Quality of life issues following autologous bone marrow transplantation

Over the past decade, the use of autologous bone marrow or stem cell transplantation has become common in the treatment of hematological malignancies and some solid tumors. However, little was known about the effects of these procedures on QoL outcomes, such as physical, emotional, social and role functioning. Recent research allows identification of the most common QoL issues in this group of patients, both during acute treatment and through long-term follow-up. This paper systematically summarizes all published articles that have investigated QoL in autologous bone marrow or stem cell transplantation patients, including comparisons with patients undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplant, chemotherapy alone and normal control subjects. Several consistent QoL problems are identified and suggestions for treatment and further research explored.