Autografting as a risk factor for persisting iron overload in long-term survivors of acute myeloid leukaemia

We studied the iron status of 32 evaluable adult acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) survivors who were entered into the UK Medical Research Council acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) 10 and 12 trials at our institution between 1988 and 1998. Patients were required to have been independent of all blood products for at least 3 years. As a group, the median first serum ferritin level was 1323 μg/l (NR 19–300 μg/l) at a median of 1321 days from the last transfusion confirming the presence of significant iron overload persisting for some years after completion of all therapy and blood products. There was a general trend for the serum ferritin level to fall with time, but the fall was less pronounced in men and carriers of the C282Y mutation. Recipients of autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) had a higher median first serum ferritin level (3245 μg/l) than patients who received chemotherapy alone (1148 μg/l) or allogeneic SCT (1334 μg/l) because of increased use of transfused blood. Nine of the 10 recipients of autologous SCT underwent venesection. No evidence of end organ damage was seen in any patient. Serial monitoring of serum ferritin and assessment of the C282Y status may be useful in all long-term AML survivors, especially autograft recipients.