BMT Long-term Follow-up Study

 

The Blood or Marrow Transplant Long-term Follow-up Study (BMT Long-term Follow-up Study) is a collaborative research effort between City of Hope (COH), the University of Minnesota (UMN) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). This study began in 2000 and was initially funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute. The original BMT Long-term Follow-up Study cohort consisted of over 2500 individuals who had received blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) at COH or UMN between 1974 and 1998. Now, with funding from the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, the BMT Long-term Follow-up Study cohort is being expanded to include about 7500 children and adults who underwent BMT at COH or UMN between 1974 and 2010, and survived at least two years. The expansion study will also enroll 1500 siblings to serve as the comparison group. The BMT Long-term Follow-up Study, assembled through the efforts of the investigators at COH, UMN and UAB, will be the largest undertaking of its kind. It will be coordinated through the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in Birmingham, Alabama.

 

BMT is used with curative intent for many life-threatening illnesses. Over 70% of those who survive the first two years after BMT become long-term survivors. The BMT Long-term Follow-up Study examines detailed information regarding the long-term health of those treated with BMT. However, researchers have not yet followed such patients long enough to understand the very long-term issues faced by these patients. The importance of this study encompasses the long-term well-being of the transplant survivor, and the practice of the physician. For the transplant team, knowledge of late effects of therapy is critical in choosing initial therapy for patients, as well as in planning appropriate follow-up of survivors. A more thorough understanding of post-BMT complications could result in a more effective use of prevention strategies after transplant, a potential reduction in possible complications after BMT and decreased cost for patients’ care.