Is blood or bone marrow better?

Hematopoiesis that has been ablated with high-dose radiation-chemotherapy can be restored with either autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation (PSCT) or autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). Characteristics unique to either type of transplant make one preferable to the other in certain clinical situations. When marrow metastases preclude ABMT, blood provides a suitable source of precursors for autografting. Peripheral cells are more time consuming to collect and more labor intensive to process and store. The peripheral autograft product can be manipulated with mobilization techniques (chemotherapy and/or cytokines) to provide more rapid recovery of granulocytes and perhaps red cells and platelets, while transplantation of manipulated marrow autografts has not yet been reported. Further advances in both ABMT and PSCT will provide additional opportunities to improve the outcome of patients treated with high-dose therapy.