What does ASCT mean medically?

ASCT medically refers to Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, a treatment that works by transplanting one’s own hematopoietic stem cells into the body to rebuild the hematopoietic and immune systems in order to treat the disease. The principle of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is to take advantage of the fact that hematopoietic stem cells are the primitive cells of all kinds of blood cells, which have the characteristics of self-renewal and the potential of differentiating many kinds of blood cells. Hematopoietic stem cells undergo proliferation and directional differentiation into mature blood cells of various lineages, such as red blood cells, granulocytes, platelets, monocyte macrophages and lymphocytes, in order to ensure the physiological needs of the organism for blood cells and a large number of needs in times of stress, and they are the adult stem cells that can be safely and effectively used in clinical transplantation therapy. The advantage of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is that there is no risk of graft-versus-host reaction and the chance of self-infection is much less than that of allogeneic transplantation. The disadvantage is that the recurrence rate after transplantation is high, so it is only suitable for multiple myeloma, non-aggressive lymphoma, low to medium risk acute myeloid leukemia and autoimmune diseases and certain solid tumors. After receiving autologous transplantation for malignant hematological diseases, further measures to prevent recurrence should be taken. It is recommended that patients go to regular hospitals for treatment according to their own symptoms in time, so as to avoid delaying the disease and causing serious consequences.