Adverse Late and Long-Term Treatment Effects in Adult Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Survivors

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has become the standard of care for many malignant and nonmalignant hematologic diseases that don't respond to traditional therapy. There are two types: autologous transplantation (auto-HSCT), in which an individual's stem cells are collected, stored, and infused back into that person; and allogeneic transplantation (allo-HSCT), in which healthy donor stem cells are infused into a recipient whose bone marrow has been damaged or destroyed. There have been numerous advancements in this field, leading to marked increases in the number of transplants performed annually. This article--the first of several on cancer survivorship--focuses on the care of adult allo-HSCT survivors because of the greater complexity of their posttransplant course. The author summarizes potential adverse late and long-term treatment-related effects, with special focus on the evaluation and management of several cardiovascular disease risk factors that can occur either independently or concurrently as part of the metabolic syndrome. These risk factors are potentially modifiable with appropriate nursing interventions and lifestyle modifications.