NONCRYOPRESERVED PERIPHERAL-BLOOD STEM-CELLS AUTOTRANSPLANTS FOR HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES CAN BE PERFORMED ENTIRELY ON AN OUTPATIENT BASIS

We have prospectively performed peripheral blood stem cell autotranspl ants in six patients with hematological malignancies on an entirely ou tpatient basis. Patients were conditioned with high-dose melphalan and received a median of 4.2 x 10(8)/kg noncryopreserved, non-purged mono nuclear cells, containing a median of 3.9 x 10(6)/kg CD34 + cells. The median time to achieve > 500 granulocytes/mu l was 21 days, with a ra nge of 16 to 40, whereas the median time to achieve > 20,000 platelets /mu l was 38 days, with a range of 21 to 48, Only three patients were transfused with platelets whereas packed red blood cells were transfus ed in two, All patients survived 60 days after the autograft and three are alive at 450, 690, and 1,950 days after the autotransplant, One p atient was given an allogeneic bone marrow transplant when relapsing a fter the autotransplant, One patient had to be admitted to the hospita l on day +10 because of fever. A median of 6,500.00 USD per patient wa s calculated as the total cost of each outpatient autotransplant, Sinc e outpatient autologous transplants with non-frozen PBSC are feasible, restrictions to PBSC autotransplant programs may be overcome and cost s may be diminished. Am. J, Hematol, 58:161-164, 1998, (C) 1998 Wiley- Liss, Inc.