U of M Researchers Develop Method that Allows More Cancer Patients to Receive Transplants

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (Oct. 15, 2007) -- Researchers at the University of Minnesota Cancer Center have developed a treatment that allows more patients with blood cancer to have a life-saving procedure.

By using a less toxic dose of chemotherapy and radiation in combination with umbilical cord blood that requires a less stringent match, the researchers were able to offer a transplant to people who previously did not qualify for transplantation either because of age, extensive prior therapy before transplant, organ dysfunction, or lack of a matched donor.  

The research appears in the Oct. 15, 2007, issue of Blood, the premier journal of the American Society of Hematology.

“This bridges the gap for a huge number of patients most often excluded because of older age and lack of donors,” said Claudio Brunstein, M.D., hematologist and lead researcher on the paper. “Without a transplant most of these people would die. This new treatment approach combined with umbilical cord blood transplant offers these patients a real chance for cure.”

With the many advances in cancer treatment, now more people with leukemias and lymphomas are achieving remissions with their initial treatment, but many are not cured with chemotherapy alone. Older patients, those previously exposed to multiple courses of chemotherapy for resistant disease, or those with proven organ dysfunction can not handle the high doses of chemotherapy and radiation traditionally used prior to blood and marrow transplant.

The researchers reported outcomes in a group of 110 adults who were disqualified from more conventional therapies. Approximately 45 percent of the patients were living three years after their transplant. Brunstein said less than 5 percent of that group expected to be alive without transplant.  The researchers also found evidence that strongly suggests the use of two partially-matched umbilical cord blood units had lower risk of disease recurrence after transplant and a trend toward better long-term survival as compared to single cord blood transplants.    

“Based on these results, studies are now taking place in Europe, Japan, Australia, and other locations modeling the ‘Minneapolis Regimen,’” said John Wagner, M.D., director of the pediatric hematology-oncology and blood and marrow transplantation program at the University of Minnesota and co-investigator on the study.

Based on this work done at the University, a national multi-center trial is about to be initiated to verify these results across the nation.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

Contact: Sara E. Buss, Academic  Health Center, 612-626-7037
Sarah Youngerman, Academic Health Center, 612-624-4604