T-cell recovery is an important predictor of outcome after T-cell depletion (TCD) allo-HSCT, according to a retrospective study involving 375 individuals.

Investigators looked at data from recipients of myeloablative TCD allo-HSCT for hematologic malignancies in an effort to identify the pattern of immune reconstitution in the first year after transplant. Among the results:

• Different subsets recovered sequentially, CD8 + T cells initially, then total CD4 + and naïve CD4 + T cells.
• The pattern was representative of thymic recovery within the first-year post-transplant.
• The only factors independently linked with overall survival and event-free survival were a fully HLA-matched donor and recovery of T-cell function.