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Myelosuppression

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Encyclopedia of Cancer

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Definition

Myelosuppression (acute suppression of the bone marrow) is the most common adverse side effect of cytotoxic anticancer therapy. It describes the decrease in the production of blood cells in the bone marrow. The bone marrow produces three types of blood cells: red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes) (which include lymphocytes, monocytes, granulocytes), and platelets (thrombocytes). Since these cell types serve distinct and important functions, myelosuppression can be associated with moderate to severe life-threatening complications, such as anemia, increased risk of infection, and bleeding.

Characteristics

The bone marrow contains stem cellsable to reproduce and differentiate into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, depending on the body’s need for replacing these cell pools. Because the proliferating precursor cells produced by stem cells are almost always in mitosis and reproduce rapidly, they are highly susceptible to cytotoxic...

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References

  • Carey PJ (2003) Drug-induced myelosuppression: diagnosis and management. Drug Saf 26:691–706

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Uwe Zangemeister-Wittke & Hans-Uwe Simon

Authors
  1. Uwe Zangemeister-Wittke
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  2. Hans-Uwe Simon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Uwe Zangemeister-Wittke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Abt. Tumorgenetik, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, Heidelberg, Germany

    Manfred Schwab

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Zangemeister-Wittke, U., Simon, HU. (2015). Myelosuppression. In: Schwab, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Cancer. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_3940-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27841-9_3940-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27841-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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