Dr. Martin on ASCT-Related Toxicities for Patients With MCL

Peter Martin, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses the toxicities related to stem cell transplantation for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

It is becoming easier for practitioners to help these patients through an autologous stem cell transplant procedure, Martin explains. Nonetheless, there is still associated fatigue and a risk of infection, but practitioners are also improving at controlling those infections.

As patients get older, those infections can have more of an impact. There is a small but significant risk of secondary neoplasm myelodysplastic syndrome acute myeloid leukemia that appears to be related to cumulative exposure to chemotherapy, he adds.