What is autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation?
This treatment method involves giving a patient 3 to 10 times the usual dose of chemotherapy to fight the tumor as effectively as possible. After this high-dose chemotherapy, the patient's own blood stem cells, which were collected and frozen beforehand, are used to help their bone marrow recover.
This approach is typically used in children with lymphoma that hasn't responded well to regular chemotherapy, or if the disease comes back after treatment. If the cancer responds to a second round of chemotherapy after not responding to the first, or if the patient was at high risk from the start but had at least some response to the initial treatment, then this method can be used. After the high-dose chemotherapy, the previously collected and frozen blood stem cells are given back to the patient to help their bone marrow recover.
What is the process for collecting autologous hematopoietic stem cells?
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a kind of treatment where stem cells are taken from your own body, not from a donor. These stem cells live in very small amounts in your blood, so to get enough for a transplant, doctors have to move them from your bone marrow to your blood. They do this using chemotherapy drugs or growth factors that help your body make more blood cells.
Usually, you would have this kind of stem cell collection after you've had chemotherapy treatments. This is done when your white blood cell count starts to recover, as long as there are no cancer cells in your bone marrow. The procedure is done in a special unit called an apheresis unit. Each session takes about 4 to 5 hours, and you might need to have more than one session. It could take as little as one day or as long as two to three days to collect enough stem cells for your transplant. After the stem cells are collected, they are frozen and stored until you are ready for your transplant.
What is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation?
When you get hematopoietic stem cells from someone else, we call this an allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Hematopoietic stem cells are special cells that can come from different places like the bone marrow, blood from your body, or blood from an umbilical cord. The transplant can be from your own cells, which is called an autologous transplant. It can also come from a twin who is exactly the same as you, a sibling or other family member, or even from someone you don't know.
In cases of pediatric lymphoma, when is allogeneic stem cell transplantation performed?
In simple terms, allogeneic stem cell transplantation is a treatment used for children with lymphoma who didn't get better after their own stem cells were used in a treatment, or if the lymphoma came back. This treatment uses high doses of chemotherapy, which are strong cancer-killing medicines, along with a transplant of stem cells. But these stem cells are not the patient's own cells, they come from a donor. This is done because the donor's immune cells can help fight against the lymphoma cells once they are in the patient's body. But, this treatment can also cause problems like graft-versus-host disease, which is when the donor's cells attack the patient's body.
What are the preparatory steps before a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation?
Getting a transplant is a big job. It involves high-dose chemotherapy or radiation therapy, lots of different medicines and fluids, and often many blood transfusions. This can cause complications that can be pretty serious. To make it through a transplant, you need to be strong enough to handle everything that comes with it. That's why doctors do a lot of tests before the transplant to make sure you're healthy enough for the procedure. These tests look at your disease and your overall health. They might include a check of your teeth and throat to make sure you don't have any infections that could cause problems. You might also have tests like a pulmonary function test, which looks at how well your lungs are working, or an echocardiogram, which checks your heart. These tests help the doctors make sure your vital organs are in good shape before the transplant.
