Guest Editorial: Are “alternative” stem cell sources still alternative in the new era?

Excerpt

Two to three decades ago, the only available stem cell sources for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) were human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related or unrelated bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. At that time, it was not possible to perform allogeneic HSCT for patients without HLA-matched donors. More recently, transplantation from HLA single locus-mismatched related and unrelated donors as an alternative stem cell source has been performed increasingly, with acceptable outcomes; however, overall survival using stem cells from such donors has been inferior to that in matched transplantation. As reviewed by Dr. Koji Kawamura [1], the use of low-dose anti-thymocyte globulin has improved outcomes of one locus-mismatched unrelated bone marrow transplantation, which are now nearly comparable to those of HLA-matched unrelated bone marrow transplantation. …