Is There a Role for Autotransplants in AML in First Remission?

Over the past decade autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation has fallen out of favor as consolidation therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission (CR1). This, in part, can be attributed to the results of a number of prospective trials, many of which compared outcomes of myeloablative HLA-matched sibling allotransplants with autotransplants using bone marrow-derived autografts. More recent studies, including one from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research, explore how peripheral blood autotransplants, influence outcomes. In this brief review, a rationale for a reexamination of the use of autotransplants for de novo AML in CR1 is explored.