Background: Several associations between immunoglobulin E and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) have been reported.
Objective: A patient whose allergic rhinitis (AR) resolved after allergen immunotherapy (AIT) but recurred after the patient received an autologous BMT is reported.
Methods: Allergy skin tests were performed before AIT began and after 4 years of therapy. Skin tests were repeated after a recurrence of symptoms 6 years later after an autologous BMT for breast cancer.
Results: Six years of AIT led to a near complete resolution of AR symptoms. Skin tests showed a marked reduction in reactivity to allergens in the AIT. After an additional 6-year symptom-free interval off AIT, symptoms returned after the BMT. Repeat skin tests showed a marked increase in reactivity.
Conclusions: Patients reconstituting their immune systems after autologous BMT may have a recurrence of AR previously suppressed with AIT.