Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation Is a Feasible Rescue Therapeutic Option for Patients Suffering from Graft Failure after Previous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Objective: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an important graft source for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). Due to less stringent human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching criteria compared to bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells, UCB enables patients lacking an HLA-matched donor to receive potentially curative SCT. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety of UCB transplantation (UCBT) at our center. Results: Between June 2009 and June 2015, 27 UCBT were performed in 25 patients. Reasons for the use of UCB were lack of adequate related or unrelated stem cell donor (n = 20) and graft failure after previous SCT (n = 7). Median time to neutrophil engraftment was 22 days. Four patients experienced primary graft failure. Thirteen patients developed acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), whereupon 6 subsequently also developed chronic GVHD. After a median follow-up time of 19 months, 9 patients relapsed and 12 patients died. Cause of death was relapse in 8 and transplant-related events in 4 patients. Median overall survival and progression-free survival have not been reached yet. Conclusion: In our experience, UCBT is an alternative graft source for patients lacking a suitable related or unrelated donor and a feasible treatment option for patients experiencing graft failure after previous SCT.