AUTHOR=Minculescu Lia , Fischer-Nielsen Anne , Haastrup Eva , Ryder Lars Peter , Andersen Niels Smedegaard , Schjoedt Ida , Friis Lone Smidstrup , Kornblit Brian Thomas , Petersen Søren Lykke , Sengelov Henrik , Marquart Hanne Vibeke TITLE=Improved Relapse-Free Survival in Patients With High Natural Killer Cell Doses in Grafts and During Early Immune Reconstitution After Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01068 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2020.01068 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=
Mature immunocompetent cells from the stem cell graft as well as early robust immune reconstitution are essential for the graft-vs. -tumor (GVT) effect to eliminate residual malignant cells after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In this prospective study we characterized graft composition of T- and NK cell subsets in 88 recipients of peripheral blood stem cell grafts with multicolor flowcytometry. Our primary aim was to analyze the impact of graft composition on immune reconstitution and clinical outcomes after transplantation. Patients transplanted with graft NK cell doses above the median value of 27 × 106/kg had significantly increased relapse-free-survival compared to patients transplanted with lower doses, HR 2.12 (95% CI 1.01–4.45,