Autotransplants in advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma: are they effective?

Recent data suggest that intensive therapy followed by a bone marrow autotransplant is effective in advanced intermediate and high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (predominantly large-cell lymphoma). Twelve studies of autotransplants were analyzed to determine outcome. Results compared to data from 29 chemotherapy studies. Complete remission was reported in 53% of autotransplant recipients versus 17% of persons receiving chemotherapy. Two-year disease-free survival was 16 and 2%, respectively. It is uncertain whether these differences indicate superiority of autotransplants or reflect selection biases. Also unknown is whether similar results might not be obtained with similarly intensive treatment without an autotransplant.