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Hopeful,
First - thank you for your reply, it was a very interesting read.
I've read so many studies done on the topic, and from all I've learned there's only one constant: The longer you survive, the better your odds at being cured, since research is constantly moving forward.
The study you quoted had me flustered before, as there was no definition for what he referred to as "younger" patients. Younger as in 5-7? Or younger as in 20-30?
The latest studies speak of ways to restore telomere lengths, improving the bone marrow's ability to generate new cells and fight off the disease. Others speak of having identified new unique characteristics in patients with AA (CH8+ chromosome, if I recall correctly). And there are more underway.
So basically my choice is between having to fight off AA again in the future, and (probably) having to fight off cGvHD in the future. The long-term prognosis for cGvHD seems better (as there are far more people who suffer from it, therefore a greater motivation to cure), but the better immediate treatment seems to be IST (as there's no chance of dying from that, as opposed to SCT).
Does that make sense?
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