High-dose Chemotherapy Followed by Autologous and Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients with Follicular Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the Rituximab Era

• Published in: Tumori Vol. 101; no. 1; pp. 2 - 7
• Main Authors: Escobar, Ignacio García, de Ibargüen, Blanca Cantos Sánchez, de Juan, Virginia Calvo, Alonso, C. Maximiano, García, Miriam Méndez, Ruíz, Antonio Carlos Sánchez, Pulla, Mariano Provencio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-01-2015
• Subjects: Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Bone Marrow Purging; Clinical Trials as Topic; Drug Administration Schedule; Evidence-Based Medicine; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Immunologic Factors - therapeutic use; Lymphoma, Follicular - drug therapy; Lymphoma, Follicular - surgery; Lymphoma, Follicular - therapy; Neoadjuvant Therapy - methods; Recurrence; Rituximab; Transplantation, Autologous; Transplantation, Homologous; Treatment Outcome; Follicular lymphoma; Allogeneic stem cell transplantation; non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; High-dose chemotherapy; Autologous stem cell transplantation
• ISSN: 0300-8916; 2038-2529
• DOI: 10.5301/tj.5000203

High-dose chemotherapy in lymphomas, and mainly non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, has been advancing since the 1970s. This therapeutic strategy is based on the supposed existence of a dose-response curve for cytotoxic agents. However, the available data are contradictory, so high-dose chemotherapy cannot be guaranteed as consolidation treatment for first-remission follicular lymphoma or diffuse large cell lymphoma. The objective of this paper is to review the current knowledge about high-dose chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The published studies on follicular lymphoma after first remission, recurrent follicular lymphoma, and transformed follicular lymphoma were assessed together with the data available on diffuse large cell lymphoma. During analysis of the studies, difficulties were encountered in comparing studies due to the heterogeneous nature of the data. High-dose chemotherapy as consolidation treatment after first remission or in recurrent or refractory disease was also analyzed.