Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a patient with refractory Crohn’s disease

Abstract

Crohn’s disease is a chronic condition for which some-times there is no effective medical or surgical treatment. Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be a therapeutic option for these patients to restore immune tolerance. Consequently, this may lead to remission of the disease or decrease its activity, making drugs that have pre-viously failed be effective. Due to the safety profile of the procedure and the fact that it is a non-curative treatment, patient selection must be rigorous. We report our experience with the first patient se-lected in our centre for autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: 27 years old male with Crohn’s disease (A1L3B1p) refractory to multiple lines of medical treatment and not a candidate for surgical treatment. Two years after the transplantation, the patient remains asymptomatic.