CHEMOTHERAPY AND RECOMBINANT HUMAN GRANULOCYTE-COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR PRIMED DONOR LEUKOCYTE INFUSION FOR TREATMENT OF RELAPSE AFTER ALLOGENEIC BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

Two patients affected by acute leukemia relapsed 10 and 12 months resp ectively after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. They were treat ed with aggressive chemotherapy and then infused with HLA-identical do nor leukocytes (DLI) collected after recombinant human granulocyte col ony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) administration, A total of 5.6 and 6. 3 x 10(6)/kg CD34(+) cells, 2.7 and 3.0 x 10(4)/kg CFU-GM, 4.7 and 4.4 x 10(8)/kg MNC, 4.6 and 3.9 x 10(9)/kg PMN respectively were infused. Both patients achieved complete remission (CR) and complete chimerism was re-established. One patient developed grade IV acute graft-versus -host disease of the liver requiring immunosuppression and he died in CR from disseminated aspergillosis, 7 months after chemotherapy; one p atient is alive in relapse 12 months after treatment.