Long-Term Health Effects of Curative Therapies on Heart, Lungs, and Kidneys for Individuals with Sickle Cell Disease Compared to Those with Hematologic Malignancies

The goal of curing children and adults with sickle cell disease (SCD) is to maximize benefits and minimize intermediate and long-term adverse outcomes so that individuals can live an average life span with a high quality of life. While greater than 2000 individuals with SCD have been treated with curative therapy, systematic studies have not been performed to evaluate the long-term health effects of hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in this population. Individuals with SCD suffer progressive heart, lung, and kidney disease prior to curative therapy. In adults, these sequalae are associated with earlier death. In comparison, individuals who undergo HSCT for cancer are heavily pretreated with chemotherapy, resulting in potential acute and chronic heart, lung, and kidney disease. The long-term health effects on the heart, lung, and kidney for children and adults undergoing HSCT for cancer have been extensively investigated. These studies provide the best available data to extrapolate the possible late health effects after curative therapy for SCD. Future research is needed to evaluate whether HSCT abates, stabilizes, or exacerbates heart, lung, kidney, and other diseases in children and adults with SCD receiving myeloablative and non-myeloablative conditioning regimens for curative therapy.