ACCELERATED ERYTHROID REPOPULATION WITH NO STEM-CELL COMPETITION EFFECT IN CHILDREN TREATED WITH RECOMBINANT-HUMAN-ERYTHROPOIETIN AFTER ALLOGENEIC BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

We carried out a pilot study on the use of recombinant human erythropo ietin (rHuEPO) to accelerate erythropoietic engraftment in paediatric patients undergoing allogeneic BMT. rHuEPO was administered intravenou sly at a dose of 75 U/kg per day for 30 d after transplant. Erythroid repopulation, evaluated sequentially through the serum transferrin rec eptor, was faster in 15 patients receiving rHuEPO than in 16 historica l controls (P=0.0003). This faster erythroid engraftment resulted in a reduction in the total number of red blood cell units required to rea ch transfusion independence (2-7+/-1.2 v 4.2+/-2.3, P=0.027). No signi ficant difference in leucocyte or platelet regeneration was observed. These findings indicate that rHuEPO administration can accelerate eryt hroid recovery after allogeneic BMT and reduce red cell transfusion re quirements with no stem-cell competition effect.