Bone marrow transplants (BMT) and peripheral blood stem cell transplants (PBSCT) have many uses. When it comes to treating cancers, they are most commonly used for cancers affecting the blood, the bone marrow or the lymph system. These include:
- Leukemias - both acute and chronic leukemias can be treated with transplants. BMT or PBSCT are one of the front-line treatments for many leukemias.
- Lymphomas - Transplants are a part of treatment of many lymphomas, mainly as a second line treatment after primary treatment with chemotherapy and radiation is tried.
- Multiple myeloma - BMT is a front-line treatment for this cancer.
Many other cancers that are not directly related to the blood or marrow may also benefit from BMT or PBSCT. In most of them, transplant is currently being used only when standard treatments fail. Strong chemotherapy drug combinations are then required to make an attempt to wipe out the cancer cells, and the transplant replenishes the blood forming cells that get destroyed along with the cancer cells.
Neuroblastoma - a childhood cancer that is often difficult to treat is one example of such a cancer where transplant is also considered a part of standard therapy.
Source:
Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology 7th Edition. Editors: VT DeVita, S Hellman and SA Rosenberg. Published by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2005.
