Blood cancers and diseases treated by transplant

A blood stem cell transplant—also called a bone marrow transplant, blood or marrow transplant, or BMT—can treat many diseases. For some diseases, a blood stem cell transplant is the only potential cure. Today, there are more than 75 diseases that can be treated by a blood stem cell transplant. Groundbreaking research continues to advance the science of transplant so more diseases can be treated with a bone marrow or cord blood transplant.

Some of the diseases transplant can treat are listed here.

Blood cancers cause uncontrolled growth of unhealthy cells in the bone marrow, which is the factory that makes blood cells. They can broadly be categorized as leukemias, lymphomas and myelomas.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
There are about 6,000 new cases of ALL in the United States each year. It can affect people of any age but is the most common type of leukemia in children under 15.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
AML is the most common type of acute leukemia with nearly 15,000 new cases in the U.S. each year. AML can affect people of any age but is most common in adults.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Primarily a disease in adults, CLL is very rare in children and young adults. About 15,000 people are diagnosed each year in the U.S.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
A relatively common form of leukemia, it affects more than 20,000 people in the U.S. with 6,000 new cases each year. Most cases of CML appear in adults.

Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that originates in the lymphatic system, which includes lymph nodes, the spleen, thymus gland and bone marrow and is part of the body’s immune system.

Multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that forms on types of white blood cells called plasma cells. These cells produce antibodies that help fight infections. Multiple myeloma causes these cells to crowd in bone marrow and block out healthy blood cells.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)
MDS are a group of diseases that affect the bone marrow and blood. About 19,000 people are diagnosed with MDS in the U.S. each year.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)
Each year about 69,000 people are diagnosed with NHL in the U.S. Most of these people are older than 60.

A blood stem cell transplant can treat or cure many blood disorders, immune system disorders and inherited metabolic disorders.

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)
Both boys and girls can be born with ALD, but boys are more likely to have symptoms. One out of 3 boys born with ALD has the most severe form of it, cerebral X-linked ALD. The form is rare, affecting about 1 in 20,000 individuals worldwide.

Hurler syndrome
Occurs in about 1 of every 100,000 babies born. If not treated, children born with this disease usually die by 5 to 10 years of age.

Krabbe disease (globoid-cell leukodystrophy)
Krabbe disease is very rare. Only about 40 children are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Most often it appears in the first months of life (early-onset). There is also another form of the disease that doesn’t show until later in childhood or even into teenage years (late-onset).

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD)
MLD appears most often in babies and young toddlers, but it also occurs in older children and adults. MLD is rare. It occurs in about 1 in 40,000 to 160,000 individuals worldwide.

Severe aplastic anemia
Severe aplastic anemia is a rare disease with 600-900 people diagnosed each year. It can affect people of any age but is most common in young adults.

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID)
SCID is a group of inherited immune system disorders that are present at birth. SCID can become life-threatening within the first year of life if left untreated. In the United States, about 1 in 100,000 babies are born with SCID.

Sickle cell disease (SCD)
Sickle cell disease is an inherited disease of the red blood cells. In the United States, it affects about 70,000-100,000 people and is most common among people who are African American or Hispanic.

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS)
WAS is an inherited immune system disorder that is present at birth. It affects mostly boys. In the U.S. about 1 in 100,000 boys are born with it.

Other diseases
A blood stem cell transplant can also treat many other diseases.