Incidence of chronic renal injury in patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant therapy

Background Haemopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a well‐established treatment option for many haematologic immunologic and oncologic diseases, allowing the safe administration of high‐dose chemotherapy. Increased risk of acute renal injury is associated with HSCT; however, the risk of chronic kidney injury in autologous HSCT remains unclear. Aims This cohort study investigates the incidence of chronic renal injury and its predisposing factors in a single‐centre population of 139 patients who underwent autologous HSCT. Methods Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was measured at baseline and at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months following autologous stem cell reinfusion and used as a marker of renal dysfunction. Results A significant reduction in mean eGFR of patients was observed from baseline (80.62 ± 2.97 mL/min) to 24 months (71.54 ± 4.14 mL/min), independent of primary diagnosis (P = 0.0019). At baseline, 12% of the cohort had stage 3 or worse chronic renal injury and this increased to 38% by 24 months. By univariate analysis, age at baseline greater than the mean of 58 years and the occurrence of acute kidney injury during the peritransplant period emerged as predictive factors for the development of chronic kidney disease at 24 months. Conclusions The current results indicate there is an increased incidence of chronic renal injury in patients who have undergone autologous peripheral blood haemopoietic stem cell transplantation therapy and this injury is potentiated by the autologous stem cell transplant procedure.