Inherited bone marrow failure syndromes: considerations pre- and posttransplant

Patients with inherited bone marrow failure syndromes are usually identified when they develop hematologic complications such as severe bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome, or acute myeloid leukemia. They often have specific birth defects or other physical abnormalities that suggest a syndrome, and sequencing of specific genes or next-generation sequencing can determine or confirm the particular syndrome. The 4 most frequent syndromes are Fanconi anemia, dyskeratosis congenita, Diamond Blackfan anemia, and Shwachman Diamond syndrome. This review discusses the major complications that develop as the patients with these syndromes age, as well as additional late effects following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The most common complications are iron overload in transfused patients and syndrome-specific malignancies in untransplanted patients, which may occur earlier and with higher risks in those who have received transplants.