Study: Umbilical Cord Blood Offers New Hope for Children with Leukemia

This week's issue of The Lancet, a weekly medical journal that publishes clinical trials covering a wide range of research, reports the results of an 8-year study comparing umbilical cord blood transplantation and bone marrow transplantation in children with advanced leukemia. According to the study, there was little difference in five-year leukemia-free survival rates in children who were transplanted with either umbilical cord blood or bone marrow. This is significant in that it increases the treatment options for children with advanced leukemia for whom a bone marrow donor has not been found.

According to Thursday's Minneapolis Star Tribune, the study was led by University of Minnesota transplant specialist Dr. John Wagner. As part of the study, Dr. Wagner and his colleagues compared 503 children who were treated with umbilical cord blood, and another 282 children who received bone marrow transplants.

According to the study, the majority of children in both transplant groups relapsed within five years, and fewer than half of them survived. However, Dr. Wagner said, the umbilical cord blood group had fewer long-term complications from treatment. Also, survival rates are higher now, partly because transplant techniques have greatly improved during and since the study, which began in 1995, reports the Tribune.

The Tribune reports that Dr. Wagner is very encouraged by the outcome of the study. "The results are tremendously encouraging," he said. "What this means is we can find donors for almost anyone."

Both umbilical cord blood and bone marrow are rich in healthy immune cells that can fight off leukemia and other abnormalities, Wagner told the Tribune. But, there are logistical advantages to using umbilical cord blood. Umbilical cords are much easier to come by than bone marrow, since they are routinely discarded after the birthing process. Also, according to the Tribune, when umbilical cord blood is used, it is not necessary to have a perfect biological match, unlike bone marrow.

According to the Tribune, the University of Minnesota's umbilical cord transplant program is one of the largest such programs in the country. And Dr. Wagner said that umbilical cord blood transplants have virtually replaced bone marrow transplants, for adults and children alike, at the University's program. However, Dr. Wagner said, there are approximately 15,000 people in the United States who are waiting for suitable bone marrow donors, and many will die who might have otherwise been helped by an umbilical cord blood transplant.

Umbilical cord donations are obtained from new mothers who agree to donate their newborn's umbilical cords. According to the Tribune, the main limitation at this time is the small network of tissue banks that collect and store umbilical cords for public use. There are no collection sites in Minnesota at this time, but there are some private banks that charge a fee to store cords for individual families. As this alternative treatment becomes more prevalent, collection and storage or umbilical cord blood will also become much more commonplace.

Sources:

The Lancet, Umbilical cord blood transplantation could widen treatment options for children with leukaemia, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673607609155/abstract

Star Tribune, Umbilical Cord Blood Cells Fight Leukemia as Well as Bone Marrow, http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1232703.html