Some Stem Cell Transplant Recipients Face Long-Term Risk

MONDAY, Nov. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with diseases such as leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome who receive a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) have an increased long-term risk of developing a cancer, a Canadian study says.

This risk was particularly evident in patients who were older at the time of transplant or received stem cells from a female donor, said the researchers from the University of British Columbia and the BC Cancer Agency.

The study of 926 patients treated with HSCT, expected to be published in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal Cancer, found that these people were 1.85 times more likely than people in the general population to develop a solid cancer within 10 years. The risk was nearly four times higher in people who were older than 40 at the time of the transplant or received stem cells from a female donor.

The median time to cancer diagnosis was about seven years after the transplant, and the most common kinds of cancers were cancers of the skin, lung, oral cavity, and colon, the study said.

"Since the risk of developing a solid neoplasm post-allogeneic transplantation continues to increase with time, extended follow-up will be needed to more fully assess the incidence and risk factors for their development," the study authors wrote.

This kind of procedure -- in which the patient''s own unhealthy stem cells in the bone marrow are destroyed and replaced with donor stem cells -- can be lifesaving but is associated with serious short-term side effects. This study found that there are also long-term risks.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about stem cell transplants for leukemia patients.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: John Wiley & Sons Inc., news release, Nov. 27, 2006

Last Updated: Nov. 27, 2006

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