Experience with second marrow transplants

This report summarizes the experience with 25 patients who received a second marrow transplant. The marrow donor for the first transplant was an identical twin in four cases and a sibling matched at the major histocompatibility complex in 21 instances. The donor for the second transplant was the same as the first except for three patients whose second donor was another matched sibling. Nine patients with aplastic anemia rejected their first graft. Four of these patients were prepared for the second graft with a regimen of procarbazine and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) followed by cyclophosphamide or total body irradiation and were successfully regrafted. One rejected the second graft, two died of septicemia and one is alive and well 10 months after the second graft. Twelve patients with hematologic malignancy had a recurrence of disease after the first transplant. Despite preparation for the second graft with a variety of intensive chemotherapeutic regimens, the five patients who did not succumb to infection showed an early recurrence of disease. Four patients with hematologic malignancy had a failure of the first graft for unknown reasons, possibly related to the administration of ATG or methotrexate. One patient prepared for the second graft with procarbazine and ATG showed evidence of engraftment but died of infection. Two out of three patients given no additional preparation were successfully grafted. One died of recurrent central nervous system leukemia after 18 months and one is alive and well 26 months after the second graft.