Autologous stem cell transplantation in lymphoma.

High-dose therapy (HDT) followed by autologous transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (ASCT) is frequently performed in patients with lymphoma. For many subentities, reliable results from prospective randomized studies are missing. In Hodgkin's disease (HD), HDT/ASCT is a standard indication for patients with chemosensitive first relapse. Patients with indolent or aggressive B-cell lymphoma may benefit from HDT/ASCT if considered as part of first-line therapy or at the time of relapse. However, new randomized studies comparing HDT/ASCT with optimal chemoimmunotherapy are necessary because the introduction of monoclonal antibodies (rituximab) significantly improved the results of conventional chemotherapy. Because data on patients with less frequent entities like mantle cell lymphoma, T-cell lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, or lymphoblastic lymphoma are insufficient, the role of HDT/ASCT needs further study.