The number of CD34+ cells in peripheral blood as a predictor of the CD34+ yield in patients going to autologous stem cell transplantation

The number of CD34(+) cells in peripheral blood (PB) is a guide to the optimal timing to harvest peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC). The objective was to determine the number of CD34(+) cells in PB that allows achieving a final apheresis product containing > or =1.5 x 10(6) CD34(+) cells/kg, performing up to three aphereses. Between March 1999 and August 2003, patients with hematological and solid malignancies who underwent leukapheresis...