Abstract: Serious hematologic malignancies are treated through high dose or lethal chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy conditioning regimens followed by rescue with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) or autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). These myeloablative/lymphoablative (M/L) treatment regimens involve the elimination of both the patient's hematopoietic stem cells and T-lymphocytes, often leading to serious complications including graft versus host disease (GVHD). The claimed invention addresses some of these problems by providing a conditioning regimen that is designed to eliminate the patient's T-lymphocytes while retaining a functional population of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). This non-myeloablative/lymphoablative (-/L) conditioning regimen involves the administration of one or more agents such as purine analogs (e.g., fludarabine), alkylating agents (e.g., bisulfan, cyclophosphamide), or anti-leukocyte globulins (e.g., anti-T lymphocyte globulin).
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 14, 1997
Date of Patent:
April 8, 2003
Assignees:
Hadash Medical Research Services and Development Ltd., Baxter International Inc.