Cutaneous busulfan effect in patients receiving bone‐marrow transplantation

Epidermal keratinocytes with abnormally large nuclei were found in 12 of 13 patients who received high-dose busulfan and cyclophosphamide prior to receiving bone-marrow transplantation for treatment of hematological malignancies. These cells were similar to those previously described in the lungs, cervix and bladder of patients on long-term busulfan therapy. Marked keratinoeyte nuclear abnormalities were not observed in bone-marrow transplant recipients who received a preparatory regimen of cyclophosphumide and total-body irradiation. This histologic cutaneous busulfan effect was transient and was unrelated to the development of graft -versus-host reaction.