Summary:Osteoporotic fractures are potential long-term complications of bone marrow transplantation (BMT). We previously reported that bone mineral density (BMD) of patients undergoing allogeneic BMT decreased by 6% to 9% during the first 6 months after BMT and that bone turnover rate was still increased 1 year after BMT. BMT patients do not need lifelong immunosuppressive treatment, which should offer favorable circumstances for the recovery of BMD. Thus, 27 (14 women, 13 men) of 29 long-term survivors of our previous study were invited to a follow-up study at a median of 75 months after BMT. From 12 months after BMT the BMD of the lumbar spine had increased by 2.4% (P ؍ 0.002). The respective changes in femoral sites were ؉4.1% in the femoral neck (P ؍ 0.087), 4.0% in the trochanter (P ؍ 0.095), ؉4.7% in Ward's triangle (P ؍ 0.072) and ؉1.4% in the total hip (P ؍ 0.23). The markers of bone formation, serum osteocalcin and type I procollagen aminoterminal propeptide (PINP) had returned to control levels, but out of the markers of bone resorption the mean level of serum type I carboxyterminal telopeptide (ICTP) was 41% higher (P ؍ 0.0001) and that of urinary type I collagen N-terminal telopeptide/creatinine (NTx) 41% lower (P ؍ 0.0002) in patients than in con Keywords: bone marrow transplantation; osteoporosis; bone mineral density; bone markers; vitamin D Osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures are potential longterm complications of not only solid organ transplants 1 but also of the bone marrow. 2,3 In our prospective study of 44 patients undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) bone mineral density (BMD) decreased by 6% in the lumbar spine and by 7% to 9% in the three femoral sites during the first 6 post-transplant months; no significant further decline occurred between 6 and 12 months. 2 Shortly after BMT bone loss was explained by uncoupling between increased bone resorption and decreased bone formation. 2 At the end of 1-year follow-up both resorption and formation markers were elevated, indicating accelerated bone turnover in survivors. 2 Unlike transplant recipients of solid organs, recipients of hemopoietic transplants do not need lifelong immunosuppression, and glucocorticoids and cyclosporine A can usually be stopped. This fact, together with a relatively young age of BMT recipients offer the bone favourable circumstances to recover, the magnitude of which has not been addressed in previous studies. Thus, we invited the long-term survivors of our original patient population to a follow-up study, in which their BMD and bone turnover state were re-evaluated at a median of 6 years after BMT. The values were compared to those obtained at the end of the previous 1-year follow-up, and biochemical data were compared to those produced by sex-matched controls. The vitamin D status of the patients was also evaluated.
Patients and methods
PatientsTwenty-nine of 44 patients who had received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant and taken part in our previous study were still alive and...