Cytopenia

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Causes and Risk Factors

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy both reduce the number of blood-forming stem cells in cancer patients, but chemotherapeutic agents have a greater adverse effect because they suppress bone marrow function in several ways. The degree of damage is related to the particular drug(s) and the dose.


Chemotherapeutic agents can produce deficiencies in all blood cell types by

damaging blood-forming stem cells,
suppressing the kidneysÂ’ production of erythropoietin (...Read the full article