Immunotherapy with ex vivo-expanded donor-derived NK cells after haploidentical HSCT in pediatric patients with AML:
Tahereh Rostami1, Mohammad Ahmadvand2, Bahram Chahardoli2
1Hematologic Malignancies Research Center, Research Institute for Oncology, Hematology and Cell Therapy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
Post-transplant relapse remains a considerable challenge for achieving successful outcomes in pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Adoptive immune cell therapy strategies utilizing highly purified donor-derived natural killer (NK) cells have been extensively explored in various transplantation settings, demonstrating promise in preventing disease recurrence, especially in pediatric AML patients.
Methods:
Five pediatric and adolescent patients with high-risk AML were included in this pilot study and received haploidentical HSCT. On day 7 post-HSCT, all the patients received a single infusion of interleukin (IL)-2 stimulated ex vivo-expanded haploidentical NK cells (1 × 106/kg CD56+ cells of patient body weight).
Results:
All the patients tolerated the administration of NK cells without any adverse events during or after the infusion. Relapse occurred in two patients, both within the first 100 days post-transplantation, while three patients remained alive and disease-free one year post-transplantation.
Conclusion:
This pilot study demonstrated that the activation, expansion, and infusion of NK cells from readily available haploidentical donors in pediatric and adolescent patients with high-risk AML after HSCT is safe and feasible.
