Three cases of typhlitis occurring during autologous blood stem cell transp
lantation (ABSCT) for metastatic breast cancer are described. Typhlitis is
a rare complication of neutropenia and has uncommonly been reported in the
autologous transplant setting. Although it has been most commonly described
in children with leukemia, typhlitis has increasingly been reported in adu
lt leukemias and in association with neutropenia secondary to chemotherapy
for a number of solid tumors. Only five previous cases of typhlitis in the
setting of ABSCT have been described. Whereas diarrhea and fever are common
toxicities associated with high-dose chemotherapy, it is likely that many
cases of typhlitis go unrecognized.