Microtransplant without immune drugs shows promise for leukemia patients too sick for standard transplant

This early-phase trial tested a new type of stem cell transplant called a microtransplant in 25 people with myeloid blood cancers (like leukemia) who were too old or frail for a standard transplant. Unlike a regular transplant, this one used stem cells from a partially matched family donor and did not give patients strong immune-suppressing drugs. The main goal was to see if this approach was safe, especially whether it would cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious side effect where donor cells attack the patient's body.