Just 10 years ago, older patients were typically considered ineligible to receive a blood or bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to treat their blood cancer, but today, patients age 65 and older not only qualify for BMT therapy but are the fastest growing group of recipients.  This was reported at the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) annual meeting as it celebrates its 20th anniversary and reflects on how BMT therapy for the Medicare population has evolved.

Blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, are most common in people age 65 and older. These patients now comprise 25% to 30% of all BMT recipients, according to the National Marrow Donor Program and the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). The percentage of older BMT recipients is significantly greater than a decade ago when patients over the age of 55 were excluded from BMT treatment due to concerns for chemotherapy toxicity.

However, reduced intensity chemotherapy, improved supportive care and Medicare changes have made it possible for patients age 65 and older to obtain BMT therapy, which can be lifesaving. There are currently more than 100,000 BMT survivors in the United States, and that number is projected to increase to 250,000 by 2020 and 500,000 by 2030 with 25% of the survivors being over the age of 60, according to a recent study published in Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

“Being able to expand the use of transplantation therapy into the age group that needs it the most is a breakthrough accomplishment for our field,” said C. Fred LeMaistre, MD, president of ASBMT.

The field of BMT began around 1970 when only a handful of medical centers around the world performed BMT. The field exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, and today, every major academic center in the world has a transplant program.

Source:               American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
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