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What do we need to know about allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors?

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 51, pages 1025–1031 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for over 70 benign and malignant hematologic and immunological processes. Over the past several decades, significant technological and post-transplant supportive advances have been made, resulting in a decrease in early transplant mortality and continued growth in the population of allo-HSCT survivors. With the expansion in the number of long-term survivors, as well as of those considering a transplant, the focus of transplant medicine has been shifted significantly to include a more prominent role for the care of the ‘long-term’ survivor. These patients have survived the acute critical phase of transplantation and have potentially achieved remission from their primary disease, yet allo-HSCT patients do not return to pre-transplant health status. For survivors >2 years removed, the time of transplant all-cause mortality is four- to nine-fold higher than age-matched peers within the general population. These patients represent a distinct, high-risk population that must be monitored for long-term transplant complications, including chronic GvHD (cGvHD), multi-organ dysfunctions and secondary malignancies. This article will review in a non-exhaustive manner, the approach to long-term care of an allo-HSCT recipient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplant Section, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    C A Clark & B N Savani

  2. The University of Tennessee Heath Science Center, College of Medicine, Memphis, TN, USA

    M Savani

  3. Department of Haematology, Saint Antoine Hospital, Paris, France

    M Mohty

  4. INSERMUMR 938, Paris, France

    M Mohty

  5. Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France

    M Mohty

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  1. C A Clark
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  2. M Savani
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  4. B N Savani
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Correspondence to B N Savani.

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Clark, C., Savani, M., Mohty, M. et al. What do we need to know about allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant survivors?. Bone Marrow Transplant 51, 1025–1031 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2016.95

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2016.95

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