Hemorrhagic Cystitis Associated with Allogeneic and Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation for Malignant Neoplasms in Adults

We investigated the occurrence of hemorrhagic cystitis in 30 consecutive adult patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for hematological and non-hematological malignancies. Ten patients with hematological malignancies received allogeneic BMT, and twenty patients, seven with hematological and 13 with non-hematological malignancies, received autologous BMT. All 30 patients received high-dose cyclophosphamide-containing regimens (120 mg/kg in 16, 200 mg/kg in one, 6000 mg/m2 in 13) as preparative therapies. They all received 2-mercaptoethane sulphonate sodium (mesna) combined with hyperhydration 3 liter/day as prophylaxis for hemorrhagic cystitis. Bladder irrigation was not performed. Overall, five patients (16.7%) developed hemorrhagic cystitis; early-onset (within 48 hours of the end of the high dose chemoradiotherapy) hemorrhagic cystitis occurred in one (3.3%; 95% confidence interval, 0.6-16.7%) and late-onset occurred in four (13.3%; 95% confidence interval, 5.3-29.7%). In three of the four late-onset cases, adenovirus was isolated from the urine specimens at the onset of the hemorrhagic cystitis. Among the 13 patients with non-hematological malignancies receiving autologous BMT, one with recurrent breast cancer developed late-onset hemorrhagic cystitis associated with adenovirus type 11. We conclude the prophylactic measure with mesna and hyperhydration to be effective enough to prevent cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cystitis of early onset. Some BMT recipients, however, even those with non-hematological malignancies undergoing autologous BMT, develop late-onset hemorrhagic cystitis in which adenovirus is considered a principal causative agent.