Bone Marrow Suppression

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Bone marrow suppression or myelotoxicity (adjective myelotoxic) is a serious side effect of chemotherapy and certain drugs affecting the immune system such as azathioprine. The risk is especially high in cytotoxic chemotherapy for leukemia. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in some rare instances, may also cause bone marrow suppression. Because the bone marrow is the manufacturing center of blood cells, the suppression of bone marrow activity causes a deficiency of blood cells. This condition can rapidly lead to life-threatening infection, as the body cannot produce leukocytes in response to invading bacteria and viruses, as well as leading to anaemia due to a lack of red blood cells and spontaneous severe bleeding due to deficiency of platelets.