Prognosis for effectiveness of leukaemia therapy possible eleven months earlier

Christian Schultze-Florey ( left ) and Christian Könecke with an optical surface for sequencing the cell samples; Copyright: Karin Kaiser / MHH - MHH research team finds biomarker for treatment success with donor lymphocyte infusion When chemotherapy does not help a leukemia patient, stem cell transplantation is the last resort. In this case, the diseased bone marrow is usually replaced by healthy cells from a suitable donor with the help of a transfusion. After the transfusion, the donated stem cells migrate into the bone marrow and begin to form new, healthy blood cells there after some time. However, this is not always successful. Some patients suffer a relapse and then receive additional white blood cells to fight the cancer. These so-called donor lymphocytes can recognise and destroy leukaemia cells. Until now, it was only possible to say how effective this therapy is months later.