Symptom control and palliative care in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or simply stem cell transplantation is a high-risk procedure. Patients’ with hematologic malignancies undergoing this procedure often experience adverse physical and psychosocial symptoms which can impact their quality of life. Provision of supportive therapy can improve physical, psychosocial, and spiritual well-being. Although the frequency and intensity of physical symptoms are dependent on multiple factors, there are certain symptoms that are fairly common such as pain, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, mucositis, and delirium. Recent literature has reported benefits of early integration of palliative care with standard transplant care leading to improvement in physical and psychosocial well-being. Integration is often difficult due to uncertainty in patients’ prognosis. In this chapter, we will discuss management of common physical symptoms and the role of palliative care integration in the standard transplant care.