# Cytopenias and myelosuppression

Source: https://nuclide.cc/terms/cytopenias/  
Nuclide record `cytopenias` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from Nuclide (nuclide.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The umbrella term for low blood counts of any kind (white cells, red cells, platelets) when treatment suppresses the bone marrow. Most chemotherapy causes it temporarily; radioligands, CAR-T and some pills cause longer-lasting versions.

## Summary

Myelosuppression is the shared toxicity of cytotoxic chemotherapy, conditioning regimens, lymphodepletion, radioligand therapy (177Lu-PSMA, PRRT) and a range of targeted agents, graded per lineage by CTCAE; pancytopenia means all three lineages are low. Blood counts before each cycle gate treatment, and delays and dose reductions are the standard responses. After CAR-T, prolonged and biphasic cytopenias (ICAHT) affect a third of patients and drive infection deaths months after infusion; lymphopenia is a marker of poorer immunotherapy outcomes. Therapy-related MDS is the late, permanent form of marrow injury.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: cytopenia; cytopenias; myelosuppression; myelosuppressive; bone marrow suppression; marrow suppression; marrow toxicity; haematological toxicity; hematological toxicity; haematologic toxicity; hematologic toxicity; pancytopenia; bicytopenia; lymphopenia; lymphocytopenia; prolonged cytopenias; late cytopenias; ICAHT; immune effector cell-associated haematotoxicity; count recovery; blood counts; full blood count; complete blood count; CBC

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelosuppression
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myelosuppression

## Connected records

- terms: [Anaemia](https://nuclide.cc/terms/anaemia/), [Myelosuppression after radioligand therapy](https://nuclide.cc/terms/myelosuppression-after-rlt/), [Renal protection with amino acid co-infusion](https://nuclide.cc/terms/renal-protection-amino-acids/), [Thrombocytopenia](https://nuclide.cc/terms/thrombocytopenia/)
- isotopes: [Lutetium-177](https://nuclide.cc/isotopes/lu-177/)

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