Effect on growth parameters of bone marrow transplantation with a chemotherapy-only conditioning regimen

The increasing use of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has increased survival among a growing number of children and young adults afflicted by malignant and nonmalignant hematologic disorders. Accordingly, quality of life has emerged as an important issue. Because they are a concern in this group, we assessed growth and development, following chemotherapy-only conditioning regimens.

Twelve prepubertal children (8 boys, G(1)P(1) and 4 girls, B(1)P(1)) with a mean age of 6 +/- 2 years (age range: 3.5 to 10 years) before and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-BMT.

Growth velocity at 1 year posttransplant was 10.0 +/- 3.5 cm/y. One year post-BMT, the statistical deviation saturation for growth velocity was 4.31 +/- 4.21. Height standard deviation score was -1.4 +/- 1.2 before and -0.5 +/- 1.3 1 year post-BMT (P <.004). The average weight of our subjects was 20 +/- 6 kg before and 26 +/- 9.5 kg 1 year post-BMT.

BMT with a chemotherapy-only conditioning regimen not only does not disturb growth in children; it is actually associated with a relative growth spurt afterward.