Long-term myelosuppression induced by irradiation

The incidence of long-term myelosuppression increased with the increasing numbers of cancer patients treated with radiation, Because long-term myelosuppression can deteriorate over time and be overlooked in clinic, the survival quality of cancer survivors are affected. Many of them may develop hypoplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome, even death. The role of reactive oxygen species and p38 MAPK in regulating long-term myelosuppression induced by irradiation has been proved in the recent years. In this review, the advancement of long-term myelosuppression induced by irradiation and the further works need to be done are summarized.