Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
Issue link: http://cancerfightersthrive.epubxp.com/i/259111
spring 2014 | cancer fighters thrive 43 cf thrive. com What Is a Stem Cell Transplant? For many people transplantation invokes visions of drastic isolation, but there is little understanding of exactly what a transplant is. To understand stem cell transplantation, it is important to frst understand stem cells and how chemo- therapy affects them. Hematopoietic "stem cells" are early blood-forming cells that grow and ma- ture in the bone marrow but can circulate in the blood. Put simply, stem cells help make up the immune system's raw ma- terial; they generate all the other cells in the marrow, blood and immune system. They do this by dividing and forming more cells—called "daughter cells"— which can either be new stem cells or other, specialized cells with a more spe- cifc function, such as brain cells. No other cell in the body can generate new cell types. In other words, stem cells are important. Chemotherapy is crucial in the treat- ment of many different cancer types, but it can carry toxic side effects. Some can- cers are best treated with high doses of chemotherapy, but this can destroy some or all of the hematopoietic stem cells liv- ing in the bone marrow, which prevents new blood cells from being formed. This could lead to life-threatening infections, bleeding and other problems due to low blood cell counts. That is where stem cell transplanta- tion comes into play. Understanding Stem Cell Transplantation Stem cell transplantation is a way to offset the effects of high-dose chemo- therapy. The idea is to deliver high doses of chemotherapy over a short period of time—and then infuse stem cells into the patient to "rescue" the bone marrow. High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation are used to treat a variety of cancers, including multiple Stem Cell Transplant Facts AUTOLOGOUS ALLOGENEIC T YPE OF CANCER TRE ATED Multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, certain leukemias and testicular cancer Multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non- Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukemia PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS Up to age 75 (or older if healthy) Up to age 65 (unless very healthy) HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS Extracted from patient Extracted from donor AVERAGE HOSPITAL STAY 3 weeks 4 to 6 weeks RECOVERY PERIOD 6 to 12 weeks 6 to 12 months COMPLICATIONS Infection, mouth sores and digestive problems Graf-versus-host disease (GVHD) and infections LONG-TERM OUTCOME Mortality rate is not more than 4% Mortality rate is 20 to 30%; most common reason for mortality is infection myeloma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non- Hodgkin's lymphoma and several types of leukemia. There are two types of stem cell trans- plants, and they are classifed based on where the stem cells originate: • An "autologous stem cell transplant" re- fers to a transplant in which the hemato- poietic stem cells (cells that can develop into all types of blood cells) come from the patient. The stem cells are collected prior to the high-dose chemotherapy and then reinfused afterward. • An "allogeneic stem cell transplant" refers to a transplant in which the stem cells come from a donor. These stem cells are infused into the patient after a pre- parative regimen and serve to replace the patient's immune system. The two procedures are very complex. In fact, autologous transplantation is re- ally considered more of a rescue proce- dure, whereas allogeneic transplantation is considered a "true transplant." Each SPECIAL FEATURE cftSp#23vky.indd 43 2/3/14 11:18 PM