donor lymphocyte infusion

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is a form of adoptive cellular immunotherapy used to treat patients who have relapsed with a malignancy following an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). The therapy involves the collection of peripheral blood lymphocytes, primarily T cells and natural killer (NK) cells, from the original stem cell donor and infusing them into the recipient. The primary therapeutic mechanism is the graft-versus-tumor (GVT) or graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect, in which the donor's immune cells recognize and eliminate residual or recurrent malignant cells in the host. This specific protocol, evaluated by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, has been studied in Phase II trials for a wide array of hematologic and solid malignancies, including leukemias, lymphomas, and various solid tumors such as breast and kidney cancer.

Other names

DLIperipheral blood lymphocyte therapydonor white blood cell infusionadoptive immunotherapy