Three resected cases of esophageal carcinoma considered as being secondary solid tumors after bone marrow transplantation

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow transplantation is now an established treatment for some hematopoietic disorders and hematopoietic malignancies, and secondary solid tumors that develop after bone marrow transplantation have begun to attract attention. CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we report 3 cases of esophageal carcinoma that developed after bone marrow transplantation. Case 1: 40-year-old female received cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation at 12 Gy for acute myeloid leukemia, followed by related bone marrow transplantation. She developed chronic graft-versus-host disease manifesting as pulmonary complications and was administered cyclosporine. Nine years after the transplantation, she was diagnosed as having esophageal carcinoma Stage II and underwent radical surgery. She died of the primary disease 17 months after the surgery. Case 2: A 45-year-old male patient received cyclophosphamide, VP-16 and total body irradiation at 13.2 Gy for acute lymphocytic leukemia, followed by related bone marrow transplantation. He developed chronic graft-versus-host disease manifesting as liver dysfunction. Fifteen years after the transplantation, he was diagnosed as having esophageal carcinoma Stage II and underwent radical surgery. Seven months after the surgery, he died of the primary disease. Case 3: A 30-year-old female patient received cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation at 3 Gy for Fanconi anemia, followed by unrelated bone marrow transplantation. She developed chronic graft-versus-host disease manifesting as a rash and was administered tacrolimus and methotrexate. Fifteen years after the transplantation, she was diagnosed as having esophageal carcinoma Stage III and underwent radical surgery. She died of sepsis 7 months after the surgery. CONCLUSION: The esophageal carcinomas developing after bone marrow transplantation had the characteristics of secondary solid tumors in all 3 patients, such as early onset, after total body irradiation, association with chronic graft-versus-host disease, and history of use of immunosuppressive drugs. Patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation require long-term follow-up after the transplantation, considering the possible development of secondary solid tumors, and in regard to secondary solid tumors developing in the gastrointestinal tract, it must be borne in mind that the risk of esophageal carcinoma is particularly high.