title: Autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation for transformed diffuse large-cell lymphoma.
abstract: The outcome of patients with transformed diffuse large-cell lymphoma is poor. High-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with relapsed nontransformed diffuse large-cell lymphoma. The role of transplantation for transformed lymphoma is poorly studied. We retrospectively reviewed 118 consecutive diffuse large-cell lymphoma patients undergoing autologous PBPC transplantation from 1994 through 1999 and compared 18 transformed diffuse large-cell lymphoma patients with 100 nontransformed patients. The transformed patients were more likely to be older (median age, 52 years vs. 45 years, P = 0.03), had a longer time from diagnosis to transplant (median, 35 months vs. 10 months; P < 0.0001), were more likely to have bone marrow involvement at diagnosis (61% vs. 15%, P = 0.0001), and were more likely to have had 2 or more courses of prior chemotherapy (94% vs. 71%, P = 0.04) than were nontransformed patients. Ninety-nine percent of patients received high-dose busulfan/cyclophosphamide/etoposide as the transplant preparative regimen. Event-free survival and overall survival were similar in the two treatment groups. Four-year overall survival was 53% in the nontransformed group versus 61% in the transformed group; 4-year event-free survival was 37% in the nontransformed group versus 38% in the transformed group. We concluded that autologous PBPC transplantation is a viable and potentially effective treatment option for patients who have transformed diffuse large-cell lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Transplant Center, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. bolwelb@ccf.org
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bolwell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalaycio
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andresen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goormastic
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McBee
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kuczkowski
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sobecks
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pohlman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002066:Busulfan / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D005047:Etoposide; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002066:Busulfan