Bone marrow versus peripheral blood allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for haematological malignancies in adults.

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an established treatment option for many malignant and non-malignant disorders. In the past two decades, peripheral blood stem cells replaced bone marrow as stem cell source due to faster engraftment and practicability. Previous meta-analyses analysed patients treated from 1990 to 2002 and demonstrated no impact of the stem cell source on overall survival, but a greater risk for graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) in peripheral blood transplants. As transplant indications and conditioning regimens continue to change, whether the choice of the stem cell source has an impact on transplant outcomes remains to be determined.