OBJECTIVETo compare the clinical efficacy of HLA- mismatched related donor (MRD) and HLA-matched unrelated donor (MUD) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematopoietic malignancies.

METHODS174 patients with hematopoietic malignancies undergoing allogeneic HSCT (allo-HSCT) (82 from MRD and 92 from MUD) between June 2002 and December 2012 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Hematopoietic engraftment, graft versus host disease (GVHD), relapse, overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were compared between MRD and MUD group.

RESULTSThere was no significant difference between MRD and MUD group in terms of age, gender, disease type and disease status before transplantation (all P>0.05). The incidence of Ⅰ-IV acute GVHD (aGVHD) was 62.2% and 54.3% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.295); the incidence of III-IV aGVHD between the two groups was 15.9% and 9.8% (P=0.229). The incidence of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was 28.4% and 45.1% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.036), but there was no significant difference in the incidence of extensive cGVHD between the two groups (9.0% vs 12.2%, P=0.525). The mortality of GVHD was 8.5% and 10.9% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.605). The 10-year OS and DFS were (50.1±6.1)% and (48.8±6.1)% in MRD group, compared with (50.5±6.7)% and (46.3±6.2)% in MUD group (P=0.501, P=0.873, respectively). The 10-year cumulative relapse rate was (21.5±5.7)% and (37.6±7.3)% in MRD and MUD group (P=0.194).

CONCLUSIONMRD is equivalent to MUD in efficacy and safety. Without HLA- matched related donors, MRD is superior to MUD because donor source is unlimited and transplantation could be made promptly according to disease status.