Bone marrow transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Results of the French Cooperative Group (GEGMO).

Data on 281 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia who received bone marrow transplants were analyzed. The median follow-up time was 48 months. One hundred and seventy patients were in 1st chronic phase, 111 were in more advanced disease. The overall actuarial survival was 50% at 5 years. In multivariate analyses, the probability of relapse was correlated with the phase of the disease, the method of total body irradiation, the T cell depletion of the marrow and the occurrence of a chronic GVHD. The probability of disease free survival was significantly better for the patients who received a non T cell depleted marrow than for recipients of T cell depleted marrow. Bone marrow transplantion in first chronic phase with an HLA identical non T cell depleted marrow offers the better chance of prolonged leukemia free survival.