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Veteran uses his own stem cells in transplant to stave off blood cancer, prolong life

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By Lisa Aubry

Within less than a year of his diagnosis, Ronney Hester pushed his multiple myeloma into complete remission, meaning all signs and symptoms of the blood cancer disappeared. With his fatigue and breathlessness out of the picture, the 62-year-old army veteran forged on, partnering with Loma Linda University Cancer Center’s Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) program earlier this year to receive a transplant of his own stem cells. The transplant is intended to keep the cancer in remission and prolong his life for years to come. Read the full story from Loma Linda University Health.

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Another HIV Patient Possibly Cured With Stem Cell Transplant

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— But this case is unique, researchers say

By Ed Susman

BRISBANE, Australia — Another HIV patient has been off antiretroviral medication for 20 months without detectable HIV levels after he underwent stem cell transplant to treat cancer — but, unlike previous “cures,” this patient’s donor stem cells did not have the mutation that confers resistance to HIV. Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Man remains in treatment-free HIV remission after stem cell transplant

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By Gerard Gallagher

A man has remained in treatment-free HIV remission for nearly 2 years after receiving a stem cell transplant to treat a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, researchers reported Wednesday.

It is the latest example of a person who has potentially been cured of HIV after receiving someone else’s stem cells — although this case comes with a twist. Read the full article in Healio.

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Research Continues in Curing HIV Via Stem Cell Transplant

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CCR5 mutation creates a challenge for HIV to infect more cells, thereby creating resistance to the virus.

Stem cell transplantation shows promise as a potential cure for HIV, according to research from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) published in the journal Immunity. According to the investigators, these findings may accelerate efforts in developing a widespread cure for HIV, which has infected approximately 38 million individuals worldwide. Read more in the Pharmacy Times.

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Reflection on Life 10 Years After Stem Cell Transplant

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By Robert Trebor

A decade ago, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and underwent aggressive chemotherapy and an allogenic stem cell transplant. Though I still have complications related to my cancer, I’m thankful for what I still have.

I’m still alive. This was not a given 10 years ago, when I was diagnosed with an aggressive case of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

The usual chemo for AML was applied, but after a few weeks of remission I relapsed, confounding my oncologists. Read the full story in Cure Today.

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FDA OKs Cell Therapy to Lower Infection Risk After Stem Cell Transplant

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— Omidubicel reduced infections in blood cancer patients from 60% to 39% at 100 days posttransplant

By Ian Ingram

The FDA approved omidubicel (Omisirge) opens in a new tab or window to reduce the risk for infections in hematologic cancer patients undergoing stem cell transplant, the agency announced on Monday.

Omidubicel is designed to speed up neutrophil recovery and is indicated for patients ages 12 and up planning to undergo umbilical cord blood transplantation (UCBT) following a myeloablative conditioning regimen, which can impair the immune system. Read more in MedPage Today.

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Patient Cured of HIV After Stem Cell Transplant, Researchers Say

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He is at least the third person cured in this way, which would likely be too risky for patients who don’t also have cancer

A 53-year-old man diagnosed with HIV in 2008 is now free of the virus after receiving a stem cell transplant, researchers reported Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

The German man, known as “the Düsseldorf patient,” is the third confirmed person to be cured of HIV using this treatment, the authors write. Last year, researchers announced that two additional patients had recovered from the virus—including, importantly, a woman of mixed race—but papers on these patients have not been published yet, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP). Read more in Smithsonian Magazine.

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Health Improves After Stem Cell Transplant, But Challenges Remain

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Patients surveyed said they felt empowered to play sports, travel, get a job

People with sickle cell disease (SCD) may see their physical, mental, and social health get better after a stem cell transplant, and this may help them pursue their personal life goals, a small study found.

Still, challenges remained as they “confronted a new and unfamiliar reality,” the researchers wrote in the study, “Physical, Mental, and Social Health of Adult Patients with Sickle Cell Disease after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Mixed-Methods Study,” which was published in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.
Read the complete article in Sickle Cell Disease News.

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CHOP Develops Error-Reduction Tool for Stem Cell Transplant Reporting

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A newly developed tool significantly improves the accuracy of reported hematopoietic stem cell transplant engraftments.

January 25, 2023 – Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have developed an application to automate the determination of engraftment, a key outcome after hematopoietic stem cell transplants.

The tool, described in a recent study published in Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, was designed by hematopoietic cell transplant and informatics experts at CHOP to help improve transplant outcomes reporting. According to the press release, the standard method to reduce errors in these reports is a tedious, manual process that is not always effective. Read more in Health IT Analytics.

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Three-Drug Regimen After Transplant May Improve Relapse-Free Survival in GVHD

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Adults with graft-versus-host disease who were treated with a three-drug regimen with cyclophosphamide after transplant may have improved survival rate compared with those treated with a two-drug regimen.

Patients treated with a three-drug regimen — cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil — after undergoing a stem cell transplant had increased one-year graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) relapse-free survival compared with those treated with a two-drug regimen, according to findings from a phase 3 trial. Read more in Cure Today.

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