Which Diseases Require Bone Marrow Transplantation?

Bone marrow transplant is one the most performed procedures for treating disorders of blood. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, more than 50,000 such operations are carried out annually all over the world. After a hematopoietic stem cell relocation, the patient gets a second chance at life.

In this article, you will read about what rare diseases can be cured with the help of BMT, where this procedure is carried out abroad, and how much you need to pay for it?

Multiple myeloma

It is a type of White blood cells cancer of blood plasma that leads to several lesions. Most often occurs in men over 60 years of age. The disease is incurable, but it responds well to therapy, which significantly prolongs the patient’s life and improves its quality.

The 5-year survival rate of patients who underwent complex treatment of myeloma is more than 50%. If the disease is left untreated, life expectancy does not exceed 7 months.

Treatment for multiple myeloma depends on whether the patient has symptoms and what their general health is. An asymptomatic disease does not need therapy. Although there is no cure for multiple myeloma, many patients have cancer that can be successfully treated for years.

The main purpose of such therapy is considered to be:

• Maximum possible destruction of tumor cells
• Control of tumor growth
• Elimination of pain
• Help patients live a better, healthy life

Patients with age below 65 are usually given chemo and BMT therapies. Both types of allogeneic and autologous transplants of stem cells are carried out for myeloma patients.

• For autologous (ASTC), a person’s own stem cells are collected and transferred back into the body after a chemotherapeutic session. Such a tactic of dealing with the disease does not cure, however, it allows the patient to achieve persistent and long-term remission.
• Whereas for Allogeneic BMT, a healthy donor is made to donate stem cells but this technique is rarely used. Unfortunately, for about 5-10 percent of myeloma patients, transplant of stem cells can also become reason for death, and patients usually above the age of 65 cannot bear this procedure.

Leukemias

It is the pathology of the lymphatic system and a spongy substance called bone marrow. Leukemia leads to the increase in the count of the body’s WBCs and is one of the complex cancers in terms of treatment. Type of therapy for this disease is decided depending on the stage and condition of the sufferer.

A timely diagnosis and correct cancer therapy program allows 80% of patients to successfully cross the 5-year line of survival. Allogeneic type of BMT is more suitable for this kind of disease where stem cells from any related or unrelated matched donor are transferred into the patient’s body. These transferred cells help in invading leukemia by targeting and killing cancerous cells.

Nephroblastoma

Nephroblastoma is a rare malignant kidney tumor that mostly affects children under the age of 5. A high level of malignancy characterizes the illness. Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and transplant of bone marrow are all used to treat nephroblastoma.

The prognosis is generally favorable. The 5-year survival rate ranges from 70% to 90% however this number is lower for people who have relapsed.

Chemotherapy combined with autologous BMT is mostly used to treat recurrent Wilms tumor. Patients with nephroblastoma can have their blood counts restored and their life expectancy increased with this treatment.

Ewing’s sarcoma

Ewing’s sarcoma is soft tissue or cancer that emerges on bones. Cancer cells develop in the legs, pelvis and chest wall usually and it is more common in adolescents and adults. Ewing’s sarcoma treatment program involves the use of several methods, including;

• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Surgical intervention
• BMT

In Ewing’s sarcoma, the patient first receives standard doses of chemotherapy, followed by surgery and/or radiotherapy. After the primary treatment patients are given an Autologous transplant.

During this procedure sufferer’s own stem cells are collected and transferred back after delivering high doses of chemotherapeutic agents. These cells travel through the blood to bone marrow and start producing new plasma cells. Other type of BMT is rarely used for Ewing sarcoma cure.

Neuroblastoma

In babies and children, it is the most frequent kind of nerve cell tumor. It is responsible for more than ten percent of all malignant neoplasms that occur in infancy and early childhood. This oncopathology is responsible for about 16% of all cancer deaths in children and adolescents and around 500 new cases of the disease are recorded each year.

In most of instances, neuroblastomas are discovered in children under the age of five. Approximately 30% of sufferers are detected during the first year. Adolescents and adults are less likely to develop the illness, although treatment outcomes are less promising in this age range. chemo, radiotherapy, surgery, and BMT are mainly used for this sickness treatment.

However, many aggressive cancers have evolved resistance to chemical treatments, increasing the risk of recurrence significantly. Patients with early stages have a great probability of a complete cure if they get prompt and appropriate therapy.

Treatment for neuroblastoma with a high risk of recurrence is only effective in about 30% of cases. The survival percentage for neuroblastoma patients in their latter stages is much lower than 20 percent.

In individuals with late-stage neuroblastoma, high-dose chemotherapeutic dosages combined with surgery and stem cell relocations decrease mortality. Patients can effectively battle cancer and live a happy life because of new techniques in BMT and supportive care.

Where should patients go for a BMT abroad?

Transplantation of Bone marrow can be performed in leading clinics in developed countries. The price of this procedure depends upon the sickness and type of BMT performed (donor or own material) and also on the presence of concomitant pathologies in the patient. The cost is influenced by the pricing policy of the country and the level of the clinic. Some of the leading countries and their clinics are;

• Turkey (Memorial, Liv, Medical Park)
• Spain (University Clinic Quiron Madrid, University Clinic Navarra)
• Israel (Ichilov, Sheba, Hadassah)
• South Korea (Soon Chung Hyang, Asan, Samsung)
• Germany (Asklepios, Erlangen hospital).
• Without access to an international donor bank, a bone marrow transplant can be performed in India (BLK Hospital, Apollo Clinic Network, Fortis Clinic Network)

Cost of BMT in foreign clinics

	Isral	Turkey	India	Germany	South Korea	Spain
BMT from relative	$135,000	$65,000	$90,000	$300,000	$190,000	$180,000
BMT from unrelated donor	$180,000	$90,000	$50,000	$210,000	$150,000	$140,000
Autologous BMT	$80,000	$45,000	$25,000	$120,000	$70,000	$80,000

To organize a trip for treatment abroad, contact the coordinating doctors of the international medical platform Clinicsoncall. Leave your request – we will find the best option for you!