Iron overload is considered to be associated with various complications in patients who undergo both allogeneic (allo) and autologous
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A total of 23 alloHSCT recipients who started
deferasirox treatment due to
hyperferritinemia (
ferritin ≥1,000 ng/mL) were analyzed retrospectively. The demographic characteristics, data about
deferasirox treatment, and history of phlebotomy were obtained from the patients' files. The reduction in posttreatment
ferritin levels was found statistically significant compared with pretreatment
ferritin levels in both def+phlebotomy and def+nonphlebotomy groups (p = 0.025 and 0.017, respectively). The liver
enzymes, especially ALT and bilirubins, were significantly reduced after the treatment (p < 0.05). The
deferasirox treatment reduced pretreatment
ferritin levels below the level of 1,000 ng/mL in a median period of 94 days, and these data were found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). The median
treatment duration time with
deferasirox was 94 days (72-122). The most common adverse effects were
nausea and
vomiting, which occurred in three of the patients (13%). In conclusion, our data suggest that oral
deferasirox treatment may be used as a safe and effective alternative method for reducing
iron overload in alloHSCT recipients, whether combined with or without phlebotomy.