Skip Navigation
American College of Physicians Logo
  • Subscribe
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Sign In
    Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
    INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
    Sign In|Set Up Account
    You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
    INSTITUTIONAL SIGN IN
    Open Athens|Shibboleth|Log In
    Annals of Internal Medicine
    SUBSCRIBE
    Subscribe to Annals of Internal Medicine.
    You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your purchase.
Annals of Internal Medicine Logo Menu
  • Latest
  • Issues
  • Channels
  • CME/MOC
  • In the Clinic
  • Journal Club
  • Web Exclusives
  • Author Info
Advanced Search
  • ‹ PREV ARTICLE
  • This Issue
  • NEXT ARTICLE ›
Summaries for Patients |16 November 1999

New Cancers in People Who Have Had Bone Marrow Transplants

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • The summary below is from the full report titled “Malignant Neoplasms in Long-Term Survivors of Bone Marrow Transplantation.” It is in the 16 November 1999 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine (volume 131, pages 738-734). The authors are H.J. Kolb, G. Socié, T. Duell, M.T. Van Lint, A. Tichelli, J.F. Apperley, E. Nekolla, P. Ljungman, N. Jacobsen, M. van Weel, R. Wick, M. Weiss, and H.G. Prentice, for the Late Effects Working Party of the European Cooperative Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation and the European Late Effect Project Group.


Summaries for Patients are a service provided by Annals to help patients better understand the complicated and often mystifying language of modern medicine.
Summaries for Patients are presented for informational purposes only. These summaries are not a substitute for advice from your own medical provider. If you have questions about this material, or need medical advice about your own health or situation, please contact your physician. The summaries may be reproduced for not-for-profit educational purposes only. Any other uses must be approved by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.
×
  • ‹ PREV ARTICLE
  • This Issue
  • NEXT ARTICLE ›
Jump To
  • Full Article
  • FULL ARTICLE
  • FULL ARTICLE
    • What is the problem and what is known about it so far?
    • Why did the researchers do this particular study?
    • Who was studied?
    • How was the study done?
    • What did the researchers find?
    • What were the limitations of the study?
    • What are the implications of the study?
  • Figures
  • Tables
  • Supplements
  • Audio/Video
  • Summary for Patients
  • Clinical Slide Sets
  • CME / MOC
  • Comments
  • Twitter Link
  • Facebook Link
  • Email Link
More
  • LinkedIn Link
  • CiteULike Link

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Bone marrow transplant is a type of treatment for some kinds of cancer. It involves giving chemotherapy or radiation treatment to destroy a patient's bone marrow, which is producing cancerous cells, then replacing the bone marrow with bone marrow from a healthy person. Unfortunately, people who have had bone marrow transplants as treatment for cancer seem to be at risk for additional cancers in the future. This may be because of damage from the radiation and chemotherapy.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

The researchers wanted to find exactly what the risk is for second cancers in people who have had bone marrow transplants.

Who was studied?

The study included 1036 patients who had a bone marrow transplant sometime before 1985 at one of 45 centers in Europe. These patients had transplants to treat cancers of the blood, such as lymphoma, leukemia, and aplastic anemia. To be in the study, patients had to have survived for at least 5 years after the transplant.

How was the study done?

The researchers collected detailed information from the patients' bone marrow transplant medical records. They also searched cancer registries to see which of the patients developed second cancers and to gather information on the types of second cancers that occurred. They then compared the frequency of these second cancers in the bone marrow transplant patients to the frequency of these same cancers in the general population. They also tried to identify whether any aspects, such as patient characteristics, the type of first cancer, to the type of treatment at the time of the bone marrow transplant, seemed to increase the risk for second cancers.

What did the researchers find?

Patients were followed for about 10 years on average. New cancers occurred in 53 of the 1036 patients. Patients who had undergone transplants were almost four times as likely to develop second cancers than were patients in the general population. The most frequent types of second cancers were cancers of the skin (14 patients), mouth (7 patients), uterus or cervix (5 patients), thyroid gland (5 patients), breast (4 patients), or brain (3 patients). The older a patient was at the time of the bone marrow transplant, the higher the risk of developing a second cancer. In addition, patients who had received a medication called cyclosporin A seemed most likely to develop second cancers.

What were the limitations of the study?

The authors were not able to explain exactly why patients who had bone marrow transplants to treat cancers of the blood are at risk for second cancers. It may be something about the first cancer that puts them at risk rather than something about the bone marrow transplant itself. This study included only patients from Europe and may not apply to patients in other places where bone marrow transplant procedures may be different. We also do not know whether these results apply to patients who get bone marrow transplants for other types of cancer or other diseases.

What are the implications of the study?

Patients who have had a bone marrow transplant for cancers of the blood appear to have an increased risk for developing certain types of cancers in the future. However, a small fraction of patients develop second cancers. Only 53 of 1036 patients followed in this study for an average of 10 years developed second cancers. Fortunately, many of the types of cancers that developed are treatable. Doctors who treat patients who have had bone marrow transplants should look for signs of these second cancers.

Clinical Slide Sets

Terms of Use

The In the Clinic® slide sets are owned and copyrighted by the American College of Physicians (ACP). All text, graphics, trademarks, and other intellectual property incorporated into the slide sets remain the sole and exclusive property of the ACP. The slide sets may be used only by the person who downloads or purchases them and only for the purpose of presenting them during not-for-profit educational activities. Users may incorporate the entire slide set or selected individual slides into their own teaching presentations but may not alter the content of the slides in any way or remove the ACP copyright notice. Users may make print copies for use as hand-outs for the audience the user is personally addressing but may not otherwise reproduce or distribute the slides by any means or media, including but not limited to sending them as e-mail attachments, posting them on Internet or Intranet sites, publishing them in meeting proceedings, or making them available for sale or distribution in any unauthorized form, without the express written permission of the ACP. Unauthorized use of the In the Clinic slide sets will constitute copyright infringement.

This feature is available only to Registered Users

Subscribe/Learn More
Submit a Comment

0 Comments

Not Available
Citations
Citation

New Cancers in People Who Have Had Bone Marrow Transplants. Ann Intern Med. ;131:738. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-131-10-199911160-00042

Download citation file:

  • Ris (Zotero)
  • EndNote
  • BibTex
  • Medlars
  • ProCite
  • RefWorks
  • Reference Manager

© 2019

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 1999;131(10):738.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-131-10-199911160-00042

©
1999 American College of Physicians
0 Citations

See Also

Malignant Neoplasms in Long-Term Survivors of Bone Marrow Transplantation
View MoreView Less

Related Articles

CANCER DIAGNOSIS BY BONE MARROW SMEARS1
Annals of Internal Medicine; 44 (4): 617-629
A Rigorous Mind Meets Her Yielding Body: Intellectual Life and Meaning-Making in Wit
Annals of Internal Medicine; 147 (5): 353-356
Taking Family History Seriously
Annals of Internal Medicine; 143 (5): 388-389
Narrative Review: Screening for Colorectal Cancer in Patients with a First-Degree Relative with Colonic Neoplasia
Annals of Internal Medicine; 143 (3): 190-198
View MoreView Less

Journal Club

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, bDMARD therapy was not associated with malignant neoplasms
Annals of Internal Medicine; 168 (4): JC23
Review: In patients with a first VTE, extended testing for undiagnosed cancer does not reduce mortality
Annals of Internal Medicine; 167 (12): JC64
In localized prostate cancer, active monitoring, prostatectomy, and radiotherapy did not differ for 10-y cancer deaths
Annals of Internal Medicine; 165 (12): JC63
18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT added to screening after unprovoked VTE did not increase cancer detection
Annals of Internal Medicine; 164 (8): JC45
View MoreView Less

Related Point of Care

Prostate Cancer
Annals of Internal Medicine; 163 (11): ITC1
Care of the Adult Cancer Survivor
Annals of Internal Medicine; 158 (11): ITC6-1
View MoreView Less

Related Topics

Hematology/Oncology

Hematology/Oncology.

PubMed Articles

Erectile Dysfunction Medications and Skin Cancer: An analysis in US Veterans.
Urology 2019.
Intra-bladder wall transplantation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells improved urinary bladder dysfunction following spinal cord injury.
Life Sci 2019.
View More

Results provided by: PubMed

CME/MOC Activity Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In.
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
Annals of Internal Medicine
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
The Comments Feature Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In.
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
Annals of Internal Medicine
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
link to top

Content

  • Home
  • Latest
  • Issues
  • Channels
  • CME/MOC
  • In the Clinic
  • Journal Club
  • Web Exclusives

Information For

  • Author Info
  • Reviewers
  • Press
  • Readers
  • Institutions / Libraries / Agencies
  • Advertisers

Services

  • Subscribe
  • Renew
  • Alerts
  • Current Issue RSS
  • Latest RSS
  • In the Clinic RSS
  • Reprints & Permissions
  • Contact Us
  • Help
  • About Annals
  • About Mobile
  • Patient Information
  • Teaching Tools
  • Annals in the News
  • Share Your Feedback

Awards and Cover

  • Personae (Cover Photo)
  • Junior Investigator Awards
  • Poetry Prize

Other Resources

  • ACP Online
  • Career Connection
  • ACP Advocate Blog
  • ACP Journal Wise

Follow Annals On

  • Twitter Link
  • Facebook Link
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2019 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
INSTITUTIONAL SIGN IN
Open Athens|Shibboleth|Log In
Annals of Internal Medicine
PURCHASE OPTIONS
Buy This Article|Subscribe
You will be redirected to acponline.org to sign-in to Annals to complete your purchase.
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Sign in below to access your subscription for full content
INDIVIDUAL SIGN IN
Sign In|Set Up Account
You will be directed to acponline.org to register and create your Annals account
Annals of Internal Medicine
CREATE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
Create Your Free Account|Why?
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×