Treatment Protocols for BK Virus Associated Hemorrhagic Cystitis After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) represents a vital curative choice for many disease. However its outcome can be hampered by a variety of transplant associated complications. Hemorrhagic cystitis (HC) considered as one of the major difficulties after HSCT. HC symptoms comprise hematuria, dysuria, burning during urination, urinary frequency, urgency and incontinency, abdominal or suprapubic pain, urinary obstruction, and renal or bladder damage. There are a lot of causes for HC development. BK virus reactivation is one of the major causes of HC after HSCT. There is still no standard and approved treatment protocol for BK virus associated HC (BKV-HC). Treatment of HC is according to the local standard operating procedures, depending on the cause and severity. In this study we will review the current treatments available for this disease. We have divided the therapeutic procedures into 5 categories including conservative therapy, complimentary options, surgical procedures, pharmacological treatments and adoptive cell therapy. We believe that comparing the advantages and disadvantages of different therapies make it easier to choose the best treatment protocol. In addition, we had a greater focus on adoptive cell therapy, because it is a relatively new introduced method and might be a logical alternative to conventional treatments for refractory patients. In total, no definitive recommendation is possible for current available treatments because these procedures have only been utilized sporadically in a limit number of patients. Furthermore, a number of treatment options are only experimental and definitely need more effort.