Leukemia relapse after transplantation – a consensus on monitoring, prevention, and treatment in China

Excerpt

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the only curative treatment for many patients with hematologic malignancies. However, relapse after allo-HSCT remains a major challenge, and patients with relapsed disease usually have a dismal prognosis. Recently, on behalf of the HSCT working group of the Chinese Society of Hematology and Chinese Medical Association, experts from major transplant centers in China came together and produced the Chinese consensus on the management of post-HSCT leukemia relapse, which was published in Cancer Letters [1]. In this consensus, Wang et al. focused on three critical components of leukemia relapse after allo-HSCT: monitoring of minimal residual disease, prevention, and treatment of relapse. This consensus not only offers an overview of the substantial progress made by Chinese physicians and scientists in leukemia treatment, but also provided an opportunity to compare the different strategies adopted in different parts of the world. …