[Cord blood transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children: analysis at a single institution]

We examined the result of cord blood transplantation (CBT) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. Fifty ALL patients underwent stem cell transplantation in our hospital. Among these, 23 patients received related bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (R-BMT/PBSCT), 17 patients received unrelated bone marrow transplantation (U-BMT), and 10 patients received unrelated cord blood transplantation (U-CBT). The 5-year overall survival rates after R-BMT/PBSCT, U-BMT and U-CBT were 64.6%, 32.3%, and 85.7%, respectively. Event-free survivals after 5 years were 59.6%, 14.7%, and 70.0%, respectively. The relapse rate in the U-CBT group was equal to that in the R-BMT/PBSCT group, and the transplant-related mortality of U-CBT was 0%. Our data show that U-CBT should be the first choice for patients with refractory or relapsed ALL who have no related HLA-matched donor.