Engraftment after infusion of CD34+ marrow cells in patients with breast cancer or neuroblastoma

The CD34 antigen is expressed by 1% to 4% of human and baboon marrow cells, including virtually all hematopoietic progenitors detectable by in vitro assays. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that CD34+ marrow cells can engraft lethally irradiated baboons. Because the CD34 antigen has not been detected on most solid tumors, positive selection of CD34+ cells may be used to provide marrow cells capable of engraftment, but depleted of tumor cells. In seven patients with stage IV breast cancer and two patients with stage IV neuroblastoma, 2.5 to 17.5 x 10(9) marrow cells were separated by immunoadsorption with the anti-CD34 antibody 12–8 and 50 to 260 x 10(6) positively selected cells were recovered that were 64 +/- 16% (range 35% to 92%) CD34+. The patients received 1.0 to 5.2 x 10(6) CD34-enriched cells/kg after marrow ablative therapy. Six patients engrafted, achieving granulocyte counts of greater than 500/mm3 at 34 +/- 10 (range 21 to 47) days and platelets counts of greater than 20,000/mm3 at 46 +/- 14 (range 28 to 66) days posttransplant. Five of these patients showed durable engraftment until the time of death 82 to 386 days posttransplant. One patient failed to sustain engraftment associated with metastatic marrow disease. Three patients died at days 14, 14, and 17 posttransplant, two of whom had evidence of early engraftment. These studies suggest that CD34+ marrow cells are capable of reconstituting hematopoiesis in humans.