title: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the elderly.
abstract: Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation may improve outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies not curable with conventional therapies. In some clinical settings, transplantation represents the only curative option. The feasibility and efficacy of this approach in older patients are undefined, since this population has been excluded from nearly all clinical trials. Advances in supportive care, HSC harvesting, and safer conditioning regimens have made this therapy available to patients well into their 6th and 7th decades of life. Recent evidence suggests that elderly patients with good performance status and no comorbidities could, in fact, not only survive the transplant with reasonable risk, but also benefit in the same measure as younger patients.
authors.affiliation: Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center, Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia 25701, USA.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ballester
authors.forename: Maria Tria
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Tirona
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ballester
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000097:blood; D015897:Comorbidity; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000601:surgery*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000601:surgery*; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000601:surgery*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34