Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation - Blog Science Connections

ABMT Timing in Lymphoma 285
RESULTS
Twenty previously untreated patients with large B-cell lymphoma and a
poor prognosis underwent ABMT. The patient characteristics are described
in Table 1. Fourteen patients received ABMT while they were in CR or PR
(group 1) and six patients received ABMT after relapse or after induction
therapy failed (group 2). The number of patients in the two groups is small,
and the two groups are prognostically comparable for age, stage, and tumor
mass; however, the patients who relapsed on L-17M therapy had a lower
median serum LDH level at initial presentation than did patients in group 1
(210 U/ml compared with 639 (J/ml). Survival from the time of initial
diagnosis and from the time of ABMT for the two groups of patients is shown
in Table 1.
Of the 14 patients in group 1,11 are disease free (median follow-up, 28+
months). The projected survival for this group is shown by Kaplan-Meier
analysis in Figure 1 and is compared with the historical control group of 70
patients with similar presentation (B-cell lymphoma, bulky mediastinal or
Median
A Not reached P = .001
B 13
" 0 25 50 75 100 125 150
Months from start of Rx
Figure 1. Projected survival of patients with large B-cell lymphoma with poor prognosis.
Those patients undergoing the Memorial Sloan-Kettering protocol described herein (A)
are compared with a historical control group of 70 patients treated with conventional
chemotherapy (B) (P = .001).