Assessing long-term health burden in older BMT survivors
Bhandari R, Meng Q, Hageman L, et al. Long-Term Health Outcomes in Older Blood or Marrow Transplantation Recipients: A Report From the BMTSS. Blood Advances. 2026; (doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025018477).
New research findings provide additional insight into the complexities of care in older patients who have undergone blood or marrow transplants. There is limited knowledge on the subject, but evidence from a study of 2-year survivors who were aged ≥60 years when they underwent their procedure illustrates the higher burden of health challenges in this patient population. In a sample of 1,581 older recipients and 594 age-matched siblings, the prevalence of life-threatening conditions was 72% and 51%, respectively. Older survivors were more likely to report poor overall health, functional impairment, activity limitation, and frailty than controls. They also had a 3.8-fold higher risk of subsequent neoplasms, especially Hodgkin lymphoma and melanoma, and they had a much greater risk of infection-related mortality than the general population.