The Use of Myeloablative Therapy with Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation in the Treatment of Follicular Lymphoma

Follicular lymphomas are rarely curable by conventional treatment despite temporary responsiveness to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The use of intensive treatment with autologous bone marrow support is being investigated at several centres and this article reviews the results to date. Although the follow-up is short the toxicity of the procedure appears tolerable and the initial results are encouraging. The relevance of residual bone marrow infiltration at the time of harvest and ex-vivo treatment are discussed.