[Current problems in pediatric bone marrow transplantation].

Abstract

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has been increasingly applied to a variety of potentially fatal diseases in childhood. However, trends of indication of BMT are changing because chemotherapy in leukemia and immunosuppressive therapy with/without colony stimulating factor in aplastic anemia are improving. Several progresses have been noted in matched unrelated BMT and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation as well as in sibling BMT or autologous BMT. Many efforts are being made to decrease rejection rate or leukemia relapse and to improve quality of life by new conditioning regimens. Attempts to induce GVL effects or syngeneic GVHD are currently under progress. The quality of life in long term surviving children are generally good and acceptable, although delay in growth, infertility, cataract and obstructive lung disease are seen in a few patients.