title: A 15-year analysis of early and late autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant in relapsed, aggressive, transformed, and nontransformed follicular lymphoma.
abstract: Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) has been shown to be an effective treatment for follicular lymphoma (FL). We explored our experience in ASCT for FL among all patients treated over a 15-year period from diagnosis through their entire treatment history including relapse post ASCT. All patients who underwent an unpurged ASCT for relapsed, advanced FL between June 1990 and December 2000 were analyzed. After salvage therapy they received melphalan/etoposide/total body irradiation, BCNU, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan (BEAM), or cyclophosphamide BCNU etoposide (CBV) as conditioning for the ASCT. One hundred thirty-eight patients with a median age of 48 years and a median follow-up of 7.6 years were analyzed. The majority were of the subtype grade 1, nontransformed (FL-NT), having had 1 prior chemotherapy. The progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the FL-NT at 10 years were 46% and 57%, respectively, and at 5 years for the transformed (FL-T) were 25% and 56%, respectively, of which only the PFS was significantly different (P=.007). The median OS from diagnosis was 16 years for the FL-NT. ASCT positively altered the trend of shorter remissions with subsequent chemotherapies, and there was no difference in OS between those who had 1, 2, or >2 chemotherapies prior to ASCT. Salvage therapy for relapse post ASCT was effective (OS>1 year) in a third of patients. Unpurged ASCT is an effective tool in the treatment of relapsed, aggressive FL-NT and FL-T, is superior to retreatment with standard chemotherapy, is effective at various stages of treatment, is likely to have a beneficial influence on the natural history of this disease, and the disease is amenable to salvage therapy post-ASCT relapse.
authors.affiliation: The Ottawa Hospital Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. msabloff@ottawahospital.on.ca
authors.forename: Mitchell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sabloff
authors.forename: Harold L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Atkins
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bence-Bruckler
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bredeson
authors.forename: Dean
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fergusson
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Genest
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hutton
authors.forename: Sheryl
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mcdiarmid
authors.forename: Lothar B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Huebsch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000628:therapy*; D009864:Ontario; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous / Q000379:methods