What Type is Best for Me?
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Determining the type of transplant that is the most appropriate for you will depend on several factors, including:
- Cancer type
- Age
- General physical condition
- Availability of a HLA-matched donor
Autologous transplants rely completely on the efficacy of the chemotherapy and/or radiation ("preparative regimen") to destroy the cancer cells. Since the donor and the recipient are the same (auto = you), no immunological differences exist. The new stem cells will not attack the cancer or your body.
Allogeneic stem cells and immune cells come from healthy donors, therefore they have not been exposed to chemotherapy or contaminated by cancer cells. Since the donor and the recipient are different (allo = other), immunological differences do exist. The donor immune cells may attack the tissues of the patient (graft-versus-host disease), and/or attack the cancer (graft-versus-tumor effect). Even though allogeneic stem cell transplants have the potential to attack cancer more effectively than autologous transplants, they can also cause more side effects.