Iron Overload in Patients Undergoing Donor Stem Cell Transplant

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the impact of pre-transplant iron overload (defined as liver iron concentration \[LIC\] above normal \[\> 1.8 mg/g\] on an MRI of the liver measuring tissue proton transverse relaxation rates \[R2 MRI\]) on the probability of 1-year overall survival of patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Secondary * Determine the impact of pre-transplant iron overload on the composite endpoint of non-relapse mortality and complications (e.g., serious infections, hepatic veno-occlusive disease, or organ failure) within 1 year after allogeneic HSCT. * Determine the impact of pre-transplant iron overload on the 1-year cumulative incidence of acute or chronic graft-vs-host disease in patients with acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes undergoing allogeneic HSCT. * Determine the impact of pre-transplant iron overload on the 1-year probability of overall survival and non-relapse mortality in patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT. * Determine the prevalence of pre-transplant iron overload in adult patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT. * Determine the correlation between pre-transplant ferritin levels and LIC on R2 MRI. * Compare the longitudinal measures of serum ferritin levels after allogeneic HSCT in patients with iron overload vs those without iron overload. * Estimate the cumulative incidence of iron overload at 1 year after allogeneic HSCT. OUTLINE: Patients undergo blood sample collection to measure serum ferritin levels at baseline (pre-transplant) and then at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after transplant. Patients with serum ferritin \> 500 ng/mL also undergo an R2 MRI at baseline (pre-transplant) and at 12 months after transplant to determine liver iron concentration. Patients with serum ferritin \> 500 ng/mL at 12 months after transplant also undergo an R2 MRI.