Allogeneic bone marrow versus peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for hematological malignancies in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

•We report a meta-analysis comparing survival rates and treatment-related complications between peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for pediatric hematologic malignancies.•Overall survival and event-free survival were comparable in the PBSCT and BMT groups.•The incidences of nonrelapse mortality and chronic graft-versus-host disease were higher in the PBSCT group compared with the BMT group.•This meta-analysis found insufficient evidence to conclude that peripheral blood stem cells are superior to bone marrow, and the results indicate that bone marrow can still be a preferable donor source for pediatric hematologic malignancies.