Search

The development of immune-mediated hemolytic anemia is a well-recognized complication after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The majority of reported cases, however, have been alloimmune in origin due to ABO or minor red blood cell antigen incompatibilities between the donor and recipient. In this study, we report seven adult patients who developed autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) between June 1985 and January 1993. These patients were identified from a total of 236 adult patients who received T cell-depleted (TCD) grafts as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. The onset of AIHA was at a median of 10 months (range 7-25 months) post-transplant and occurred in 5% of all patients transplanted with TCD grafts who survived at least 6 months. Six patients had a warm reacting autoantibody, while one patient had a cold-reacting antibody with a thermal amplitude up to 30 degrees C. All were receiving immunosuppressive treatment for GVHD at the time of diagnosis. Initial treatment in all patients consisted of steroids. Three of the seven had a partial response while the four remaining patients failed to respond to corticosteroids. Splenectomy was performed in three patients with two partial responses. Four patients were treated with additional therapeutic interventions, including plasmapheresis, immunoglobulin infusions, staphylococcus protein A column, or other immunosuppressive agents. In five cases, erythropoietin was administered as adjunctive treatment to maintain adequate hematocrit levels. Two patients are presently in complete remission after prolonged courses of steroids, while a third patient has compensated hemolysis requiring low-dose steroids. Four patients died due to either infectious complications or disseminated intravascular coagulation secondary to cold agglutinin disease. These data indicate that AIHA is a clinically significant and not infrequent complication in allogeneic marrow transplant recipients. The response to conventional treatment is generally unsatisfactory as even patients who ultimately remit require prolonged courses of immunosuppressive therapy.

Donor leukocyte infusions were administered to a patient who had relapsed with chronic myelogenous leukemia after having failed two successive HLA-matched allogeneic bone marrow transplants. Serial cytogenetic, restriction fragment length polymorphism, and polymerase chain reaction studies of the patient's marrow and blood after receiving donor leukocyte infusions revealed disappearance of the leukemic clone and the establishment of complete donor chimerism. An antileukemic response in this patient occurred initially in the absence of clinically evident graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), but complete eradication of the leukemic clone did not occur until after the onset of GVHD. The patient is now 48 weeks post infusion and remains in complete remission. This case demonstrates that leukocyte infusions are an effective form of adoptive immunotherapy which can result in a sustained molecular remission.