Interferon α for the Therapy of Minimal Residual Disease

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of interferon α among patients undergone unmanipulated blood and marrow transplantation following day 60 post-transplantation who were minimal residual disease positive after transplantation. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an effective treatment option for acute leukemia and many other hematological malignancies. However, post-transplant relapse can occur in some patients, and the prognosis of these patients is usually very poor.The persistence or recurrence of minimal residual disease (MRD) in the post-transplant period is an independent risk factor of relapse. Therefore, MRD monitoring can be used to screen patients with a high risk of relapse to provide timely intervention and prevent post-transplant relapse.Interferon α-2b exerts a relatively strong immunomodulatory effect. It can kill acute leukemia (AL) cells by regulating T-cell and/or natural killer cell functions.Consequently, interferon α-2b may have potential therapeutic value for AL patients with MRD-positive after transplantation. The study hypothesis: Prevention of relapse using interferon α-2b following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with standard risk acute leukemia can reduce relapse rate.