WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Ten years after receiving a hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT), blood cell cancer survivors appear about as healthy as those without cancer, according to a report in the Sept. 20 edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Karen L. Syrjala, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, and colleagues sought to examine quality-of-life indicators in 405 HCT recipients and case-matched controls. In the prospective trial, subjects answered questions regarding medical and health-related issues.
After 10 years, analysis of 137 survivors and controls revealed that most aspects of health quality were similar in transplant patients. HCT recipients, however, did have a significantly higher incidence of musculoskeletal problems, memory problems, antidepressant use, and sexual dysfunction, among other problems. Even though the hospitalization rates were similar, transplant patients reported an average of 3.5 medical problems compared with 1.7 for controls.
"Although indistinguishable in many respects, survivors had more medical needs than controls," they conclude. "Survivors require screening for sexual problems, urinary frequency, mood and need for antidepressants or benzodiazepines."
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