CasL/HEF1 belongs to the p130Cas family. It is tyrosine-phosphorylated following ␤ 1 integrin and/or T cell receptor stimulation and is thus considered to be important for immunological reactions. CasL has several structural motifs such as an SH3 domain and a substrate domain and interacts with many molecules through these motifs.

Bortezomib is a novel proteasome inhibi

Immune reactions after RI-CBT can be categorized into three distinct subtypes.

Umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT) is an alternative allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) strategy for patients with haematological diseases who do not have a matched related or unrelated donor and who need urgent transplantation. The value of CBT using myeloablative preparative regimens has already been confirmed among paediatric and adult patients (Laughlin et al, 2004;Rocha et al, 2004;Takahashi et al, 2004). However, conventional myeloablative preparative regimens are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in older patients or in those who have experienced extensive prior therapy or organ dysfunction associated with transplantation-related mortality. Various reduced-intensity preparative regimens that have been applied to such patients by several groups, including the authors of the present study, have proven feasible (Barker et al, 2003(Barker et al, , 2005Chao et al, 2004;Jacobsohn et al, 2004;Miyakoshi et al, 2004Miyakoshi et al, , 2007Yuji et al, 2005;Misawa et al, 2006;Ballen et al, 2007;Brunstein et al, 2007;Komatsu et al, 2007;Uchida et al, 2008).

Summary The efficacy of allogeneic haematopoietic stem‐cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) for natural killer (NK)‐cell neoplasms is unknown. We investigated the results of allo‐HSCT for NK‐cell neoplasms between 1990 and 2003 through questionnaires. After reclassification by a haematopathologist, of 345 patients who underwent allo‐HSCT for malignant lymphoma, 28 had NK‐cell neoplasms (World Health Organization classification): extranodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma (n = 22), blastic NK‐cell lymphoma (n = 3), and aggressive NK‐cell leukaemia (n = 3). Twelve were chemosensitive and 16 chemorefractory. Twenty‐two had matched‐related donors. Stem‐cell source was bone marrow in eight and mobilised peripheral blood in 20. Conditioning regimens were myeloablative (n = 23) and non‐myeloablative (n = 5). Grade 2–4 acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) and chronic GVHD developed in 12 and 8 respectively. Eight died of disease progression, three of infection, two of acute GVHD, one of veno‐occlusive disease, one of interstitial pneumonitis, and one of thrombotic microangiopathy. Two‐year progression‐free and overall survivals were 34% and 40% respectively (median follow‐up, 34 months). All patients who did not relapse/progress within 10 months achieved progression‐free survival (PFS) during the follow‐up. In multivariate analysis, stem cell source (BM versus peripheral blood; relative risk 3·03), age (≥40 years vs. <40 years; relative risk 2·85), and diagnoses (extranodal NK/T‐cell lymphoma versus others; relative risk 3·94) significantly affected PFS. Allo‐HSCT is a promising treatment for NK‐cell neoplasms.