Indications for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children and adolescents – recommendations of the Polish Pediatric Group for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in the year 2014
Abstract
This article presents the current recommendations from the Polish Pediatric Group for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation concerning the indications for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children and adolescents suffering from hematological malignancies, solid tumours, and congenital or acquired non-malignant disorders. Indications for HSCT are established in context of the recent results of conventional treatment, i.e. obtained with non-HSCT strategies; it means transplantation is justifiable exclusively, when it significantly increases individual patient's chances to be cured, despite of the risk of HSCT-related mortality. Hence, due to the advances of non-transplant treatment strategies as well as progress in the field of HSCT the indications for HSCT require to be regularly up-dated. The recommendations presented in this article are based on the current guidelines from the European Group for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT), including those from the EBMT Pediatric Diseases Working Party and the EBMT Inborn Errors Working Party, and from the international treatment protocols currently applied in the centers of the Polish Pediatric Leukemia/Lymphoma Study Group and Polish Pediatric Solid Tumours Study Group. The recommendations are addressed not only to the Polish pediatric transplant centers, but first of all to the Polish pediatric centers involved in diagnostics and treatment of the malignancies and non-malignant disorders in children and adolescents with non-transplant strategies, because it is their responsibility to identify as soon as possible indications for HSCT and refer patient at the appropriate time to pediatric transplant center.
Keywords: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantationIndicationsChildrenAdolescents