From the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Author's disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
Address reprint requests to Frederick R. Appelbaum, MD, Member and Director, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Professor and Head, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1100 Fairview Avenue North, D5-310, P.O. Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109-1024; e-mail: fappelba{at}fhcrc.org
Overview: The adult acute leukemias include a broad spectrum of disorders with some common features but enormous heterogeneity in biology and therapeutic responsiveness. Hematopoietic cell transplantation is a potentially effective therapy for this group of disorders but involves significant risk. How best to integrate hematopoietic cell transplantation into the care of patients with acute leukemia requires continued reappraisal because of advances in diagnostic methods, conventional therapeutic approaches, and transplantation techniques.
