OBJECTIVEThis review discussed the available data on treatment outcomes of cord blood transplantation (CBT) for acute leukemia.

DATA SOURCESThe data cited in this review were obtained from articles listed in Medline and Pubmed.

STUDY SELECTIONWe reviewed the articles of clinical results from various registries and institutions, as well as our experiences with CBT in children, adolescents and adults.

RESULTSThis research has clearly shown that cord blood (CB) has several unique characteristics resulting in distinct advantage and disadvantages when compared to transplantation with unrelated donor bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cells. The field of CBT has advanced from investigating its safety and feasibility to addressing more specific issues such as accelerating engraftment, extending access, and examining outcomes in specific subgroups of patients. Many approaches have been investigated in the attempt to improve engraftment and survival. Variable factors have been identified, such as factors related to donor choice (human leukocyte antigen (HLA) compatibility, cell dose, and others) and transplantation (conditioning and graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis regimen). Data support that CB should be considered a reasonable option in those that do not have HLA matched sibling donor and for those in whom the time to transplant is critical.

CONCLUSIONSCB is a reasonable alternative to unrelated donor bone marrow or peripheral blood progenitor cells for transplantation. Recently developed strategies aimed at improving hematopoietic recovery and reducing early transplantation-related mortality could further improve treatment outcomes of CBT for patients with acute leukemia.