Autologous bone marrow transplantation as consolidation therapy in newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: long-term outcome.

Autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) often produces durable remission in patients with intermediate-high grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We present a retrospective review of 32 eligible newly diagnosed patients with NHL treated with conventional induction chemotherapy followed by ABMT consolidation therapy. These patients were treated in our department between 1984-1994 and followed up for 5-172 months with a median time of 82 months. In our patients the status of disease at transplant was 30 complete remissions and 2 partial remissions. All patients received a CBV-like high-dose preparative regimen. At 136 months the probability of disease-free survival (DFS) and overall (OS) is 66% and 70% respectively. Seven patients died from the disease. There was one case of toxicity related death. Our aim was to achieve a status of minimal disease and then consolidate it with high-dose polychemotherapy regimen. This study confirms that a significant number of patients with aggressive responding NHL can achieve prolonged RFS and OS after ABMT. Our data document the importance of long-term follow-up in interpreting the results of ABMT in NHL.