OBJECTIVETo compare the outcomes of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).

METHODSFrom Jan 2007 to Dec 2010, 106 adult ALL patients were retrospectively divided into two groups, 50 in auto-HSCT group and 56 in allo-HSCT group. Auto-HSCT group included 21 patients with high-risk, 46 patients in CR1 and 4 cases in CR2. All the 50 patients had negative minimal residual disease (MRD) prior to HSCT. Allo-HSCT group included 44 patients with high risk, 51 patients in CR1 and 5 cases in CR2, 15 patients with positive MRD before allo-HSCT. response, regulatory T cells (Treg), cytokines levels and treatment-related adverse effects were observed.

RESULTSOf the total 106 patients, 29 patients relapsed at a medium follow-up of 22.9(0.8-63.3) months. The 3-year cumulative relapse rate (RR) was (29.9±8.0) % in auto-HSCT group and (32.7±6.8) % in allo-HSCT group. There were no significant differences in RR and overall survival (OS) between auto-HSCT and allo-HSCT groups, even of stratified risk groups. In standard risk group, 3-year OS was (77.1±13.2) % in auto-HSCT group and (90.9±8.7) % in allo-HSCT group (P=0.739). In high-risk group, 3-year OS was (68.7±10.8) % after auto-HSCT and (45.2±8.5) % after allo-HSCT (P=0.094).

CONCLUSIONDue to acceptable RR and OS, adult ALL patients with no MRD before HSCT showed favorable survival. Auto-HSCT may be a considerable choice for adult ALL patients with negative MRD when lacking of donors for allo-HSCT.