OBJECTIVE: At present there is no effective therapeutic approach for stage IV neuroblastoma. We report our experience with allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a means of treating this disorder in one child. METHODS: A 7-year-old boy with stage IV neuroblastoma received allogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The donor was his mother who was haploid HLA-matched to the patient. Conditioning regimen consisted of fludarabin and melphalan. Stem cells were collected from peripheral blood and bone marrow of the donor. RESULTS: The patient achieved hematopoietic reconstruction and was converted to full donor chimerism according to short tandem repeat sequence-polymerase chain reaction detection. The patient's neutrophil count recovered to more than 0.5 x 10(9)/L 10 days after transplantation. The patient's platelet count recovered to more than 20 x 10(9)/L 11 days after transplantation. Acute graft versus host disease occurred 8 days after transplantation and was improved after treatment. The patient survived in a 210-day-follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Haploid HLA-matched allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from parent donor was an alternative, safe and effective treatment for children with stage IV neuroblastoma.
OBJECTIVE: At present there is no effective therapeutic approach for stage IV neuroblastoma. We report our experience with allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a means of treating this disorder in one child. METHODS: A 7-year-old boy with stage IV neuroblastoma received allogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The donor was his mother who was haploid HLA-matched to the patient. Conditioning regimen consisted of fludarabin and melphalan. Stem cells were collected from peripheral blood and bone marrow of the donor. RESULTS: The patient achieved hematopoietic reconstruction and was converted to full donor chimerism according to short tandem repeat sequence-polymerase chain reaction detection. The patient's neutrophil count recovered to more than 0.5 x 10(9)/L 10 days after transplantation. The patient's platelet count recovered to more than 20 x 10(9)/L 11 days after transplantation. Acute graft versus host disease occurred 8 days after transplantation and was improved after treatment. The patient survived in a 210-day-follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Haploid HLA-matched allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from parent donor was an alternative, safe and effective treatment for children with stage IV neuroblastoma.