Autologous bone marrow transplantation for pediatric Hodgkin's disease: a case-matched comparison with adult patients by the European Bone Marrow Transplant Group Lymphoma Registry.

PURPOSE

We analyzed the outcome of autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) in pediatric and adult patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) by means of a case-controlled study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Eighty-one pediatric HD patients who had undergone ABMT and who had been reported to the European Bone Marrow Transplant Group (EBMTG) Lymphoma Registry were compared with a case-matched group of 81 adult patients who had undergone the same procedure. The case-matching was performed following selection of the main prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) by multivariate analysis.

RESULTS

The PFS rate was not significantly different between the groups (39% for the pediatric group v 48% for the adult group). The overall relapse/progression rates for the groups were 52% and 40%, respectively. This was not a statistically significant difference and the sites of relapse were similar. There was no significant difference in the incidence or causes of procedure-related morbidity or mortality of the two groups.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that patients with pediatric HD have the same outcome at ABMT as their adult counterparts; however, long-term complications will need to be carefully monitored.