Long-term effects of bone marrow transplantation.

As increasing numbers of children are surviving beyond the 1st decade after marrow transplantation and increasing numbers of children are receiving marrow transplants each year, the delayed effects related to the transplant procedure itself, the original disease, and/or the transplant preparative regimen are becoming apparent. Late effects related to the transplant procedure include those of engraftment stability, the chronic immunosuppression of chronic graft-versus-host disease and delayed immunologic recovery. Recurrent disease is the major late effect related to the patient's original disease. The late effects which may be related to previous therapy administered and/or the transplant preparative regimen include abnormalities of neuroendocrine function, ocular problems, dental developmental abnormalities in young children, central nervous system dysfunction and the development of secondary malignancies. To improve the quality of life of marrow transplant recipients and to prevent some of the growth and development abnormalities which may occur, an awareness of the problems encountered to date is needed.