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Parvovirus B19 (B19) disease is a rare cause of anemia in cancer patients and often goes unrecognized, causing delays in anticancer therapy.

A retrospective review was carried out of the records of patients with multiple myeloma who underwent melphalan‐based autologous stem cell transplantation (MEL‐ASCT) and developed B19 infection (January 2009–December 2011). Cases were defined by the presence of clinical and laboratory findings consistent with B19 disease in patients with repeatedly positive plasma quantitative polymerase chain reaction for parvovirus.

Six patients qualified as cases; 5 presented with trilineage cytopenias (chronic in 1) and 1 with anemia later progressing to pancytopenia. Transfusion‐dependent thrombocytopenia led to testing in 5 patients. Two of these patients also had manifestations of autoimmune disease. Therapy with intravenous …