Combined HLA-matched Bone Marrow and Kidney Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma With Renal Failure

The induction of transplantation tolerance involves the specific elimination of the immune response to the transplant but not to other antigens. In the realm of kidney transplantation, tolerance means that the recipient is unable to detect the donor transplant kidney as foreign, and therefore the recipient is unable to reject the kidney. Donor bone marrow engraftment leads to kidney graft tolerance in animal models. Renal failure is a major complication of multiple myeloma, a plasma cell malignancy for which the only known cure is allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Standard bone marrow transplantation is associated with frequent toxicity in patients with multiple myeloma, and is generally no considered an option for those patients with end stage renal disease. Myeloma patients are excluded from conventional renal transplantation protocols because of their underlying malignancy. A less toxic bone marrow transplantation protocol, combined with renal transplantation, could provide an opportunity for cure of the myeloma and correction of ESRD in patients with this disease. In addition, successful marrow engraftment may be expected to lead to a state of tolerance. Successful implementation of tolerance would be a major benefit to transplant recipients. The significance of developing tolerance is that the patient would be spared the disabling complications of indefinite immunosuppression, which include infections, cataracts, osteoporosis, diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and malignancy