Bone-marrow transplantation. A preliminary study in aplasia and leukaemia

Six patients with aplastic anaemia, and nine patients with acute leukaemia in relapse, underwent bone-marrow transplantation between November, 1975, and November, 1979. All patients with aplastic anaemia developed a functioning marrow graft and four were alive 42, 24, 22, and 17 months respectively after the procedure. Two died within the first four months after the procedure from graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and associated infection, while two of the survivors are still troubled by chronic GVHD. Of the nine patients with acute leukaemia, seven died within the first few months after the procedure. However, two patients remained alive, with no evidence of recurrent leukaemia, 18 and nine months respectively after the graft. These results confirm that bone-marrow transplantation is a useful therapeutic procedure in severe aplastic anaemia, but is of limited value in the treatment of acute leukaemia in relapse.