Allogeneic transplantation for the elderly patient with acute myelogenous leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome.

Overview

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are diseases of the elderly. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers the possibility of cure for these malignancies, but until recently its use was restricted to younger patients due to prohibitive treatment-related mortality. Improvements in supportive care and development of reduced-intensity preparative regimens have allowed patients in the sixth, seventh, and to a lesser extent, eighth decade of life to be treated with allogeneic transplantation. Major obstacles to extending this form of treatment to older patients are lack of promptly available donors, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), delayed immune recovery, and the high prevalence of refractory and relapsed disease intrinsic to the natural history of these myeloid malignancies. Here we review current results of allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation for AML and MDS in the elderly.