Stem cell transplantation is a key and sometimes curative treatment approach for many hematological malignancies. Over the past couple of decades, the use of stem cell transplantation has expanded geographically and continues to evolve, with an increasing number of transplantations from unrelated donors, and novel regimens becoming available for prevention and management of transplant complications.
2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry (CIBMTR). Launched in 1972, doctors in the United States, the Netherlands, and France combined their efforts to create an international registry of transplants to monitor the outcomes of patients undergoing transplantation, with the goal of deducing the most effective approaches. In order to celebrate the significant advances which have been made in optimizing stem cell transplantation for patients with hematological malignancies over the past 50 years, Frontiers in Oncology is delighted to present three collections, which together aim to collate the next phase of advances in these fields as Open Access publications.
This collection is focusing on advances in conditioning approaches and the management of early complications. Conditioning regimens are necessary in eradicating residual tumor tissue and in immunosuppression to prevent graft rejection after transplantation. The regimen used depends on the malignancy being treated and can be categorized based on its intensity. In 1997, the introduction of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens enabled the treatment of elderly patients and patients with comorbidities.
Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) after transplantation remain a clinical challenge and the biggest limitation for HSCT. Early complications after transplant include acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), infectious complications and veno-occlusive disease (VOD). Despite the use of prophylaxis, high-grade GvHD still occurs frequently, and severe GvHD is a major cause of mortality. The use of RIC and non-myeloablative regimens have been able to contribute to reduced toxicities and complications, and the development of scoring systems to predict TRAE risk has enabled risk-adapted decision making. More recently, advances in understanding of the pathophysiology of GvHD have enabled new possibilities for preventative and therapeutic approaches.
This collection welcomes submissions contributing to optimizing conditioning for patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing stem cell transplantation, as well as research contributing towards reducing the risk of early complications and managing them when they occur.
Other collections in the 50 Years of BMT series:
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50 Years of BMT: Risk Stratification, Donor Matching and Stem Cell Collection for Transplantation-
50 Years of BMT: Long-Term Outcmomes and Late Complications After TransplantationPlease note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics, computational analysis, or predictions of public databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) will not be accepted in any of the sections of Frontiers in Oncology.
