Coronary artery disease following bone marrow transplantation.

A 19-year-old woman died suddenly 30 months after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for refractory leukemia. On postmortem examination severe coronary artery disease and acute myocardial infarction were found. The patient had previously been given chemotherapy including daunorubicin for treatment of her leukemia. She received high dose cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation (1260 cGy) for her transplant. Diffuse chronic graft-versus-host disease, mainly affecting skin, subsequently developed, and was resistant to various therapies. The possible association of coronary artery disease and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is discussed.