In vivo T-cell depletion with pretransplant low-dose antithymocyte globulin is associated with reduced transplant-related mortality and improved clinical outcome in patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from unrelated and partially matched related donors.

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) represents one of the major limiting factors to the successful applicability of hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT). In particular, allogeneic HSCT from alternative donors with unmanipulated graft results in an increased risk of both acute and chronic GVHD compared with matched sibling donor transplants [1]. At the present, none of the GVHD prophylactic strategies currently in use, including calcineurin inhibitors [2], T-lymphocyte depletion, and monoclonal antibodies [3,4], have been proven to be of superior efficacy over another.