Outcome of non-T-cell-depleted HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from family donors in children and adolescents

Non-T-cell-depleted HLA-haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) from family members has been reported, but its effectiveness and safety are not fully known. In this study, we examined the outcomes of 83 children and adolescents with nonmalignant (n = 11) or malignant (n = 72) disorders who underwent SCT mismatched at 2 or 3 HLA loci, either from the mother (n = 56), a noninherited maternal antigen (NIMA)-mismatched sibling (n = 14), or the father/a noninherited paternal antigen (NIPA)-mismatched sibling (n = 13). Engraftment was satisfactory. Severe (grade III-IV) acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was noted only in malignant disease, with an incidence of 21 of 64 evaluable patients. GVHD prophylaxis with a combination of tacrolimus and methotrexate was significantly associated with a lower risk of severe acute GVHD, compared with other types of prophylaxis (P = .04). Nine of 11 patients with nonmalignant disease and 29 of 72 patients with malignant disease were alive at a median follow-up of 26 months (range, 4-57 months). Outcomes were not significantly different among the 3 donor groups (mother versus NIMA-mismatched sibling versus father/NIPA-mismatched sibling) for the malignancy disorders. Our results indicate that non-T-cell-depleted HLA-haploidentical SCT may be feasible, with appropriate GVHD prophylaxis, for young recipients who lack immediate access to a conventional stem cell source.