On December 16, 2019, the 100th case of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 2019 was performed in Department of Hematology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU), marking that the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation level of our hospital firmly holds the 1stplace in the northwest region and has become one of the leaders throughout China.
The 49-year-old female patient, surnamed Liu, presented with recurrent fever with unknown causes 4 months ago. She was diagnosed with respiratory tract infection and not effectively treated in a local hospital. Subsequently, the patient consulted He Pengcheng, Director of Department of Hematology of our hospital. She was diagnosed with acute B lymphocyte leukemia (high-risk BCR/ABL 190 positive). The patient and her family members were almost on the verge of collapse upon hearing the terrible disease. However, Director He Pengcheng was determined to take active treatment. After communicating with the patient and her family members, he decided to choose hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to completely cure the disease and he also informed them with the risk of transplantation prior to surgery. The patient finally agreed to receive hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. After one cycle of induction chemotherapy, her physical condition was completely relieved and BCR/ABL gene became negative. After another cycle of consolidating chemotherapy, physicians from Department of Hematology delivered collective discussion and confirmed that the patient had the indications for transplantation and it was an appropriate timing to perform the transplantation. On December 31, 2019, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was successfully performed from the donation of her son. After the transplantation, the hematopoietic function was properly restored and her physical signs became stable. She was discharged from the transplantation room on January 14, 2020. This is the 100thcase of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation completed by Department of Hematology of our hospital in 2019. The breakthrough of 100 cases not only has a quantitative meaning, but also reflects the improvement of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation level as well as patients' trust, which is of milestone significance and marks that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation level of our hospital has reached the international level.
The incidence of malignant hematological diseases, commonly known as blood cancer, tends to increase year by year. Leukemia has become the malignant tumor with the highest mortality rate among children, young- and middle-aged population. Like cutting leeks, chemotherapy fails to radically cure leukemia. The overall 5-year survival rate of leukemia patients after chemotherapy remains lower than 25%. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only treatment that can cure malignant hematological diseases. Statistic data show that the overall 5-year survival rate of leukemia patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has exceeded 75%.During hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, normal hematopoietic stem cells were infused into patients with hematopoiesis disorder and immune function loss after ultra-high dose radiotherapy and chemotherapy to replace the diseased hematopoietic system and rebuild normal hematopoiesis and immune function of the recipients. It is a difficult and technically demanding clinical technology, requiring corresponding facilities as well as diagnostic and treatment levels.
Established in 1964, Department of Hematology of our hospital pioneered in carrying out the first case of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in northwest China in 1991, successfully completing the first case of allogeneic peripheral blood hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 1993 and performed the first case of pediatric umbilical cord blood transplantation in the northwest region in 2003, respectively. In 2007, it was approved as a Designated Hospital for Collection and Transplantation for Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation by Ministry of Health. The department currently has nearly 100 beds and 9 world-class transplantation rooms. In 2017, He Pengcheng became Director of the department, overcame complex difficulties and established a sub-specialist team for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, making the transplantation technology become standardized and professionalized. Through joint efforts of all members of the department, the number of transplantation has been nearly doubled from 42 in 2017 to 82 in 2018. The growth rate ranked first in China and held a leading position in the northwest region. In 2019, the number of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation reached 100 for the first time. All patients were safely discharged from the transplantation room. The 3-year survival rate of transplantation recipients was nearly 90% and the 5-year survival rate exceeded 75%. Consequently, more patients from Shaanxi province and the northwest region can undergo high-level hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and enjoy high-quality medical resources in our hospital without the need to travel long distances to Beijing, Shanghai and other places to seek medical treatment.
