Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for refractory mantle cell lymphoma

We report about a 28-year-old woman with relapsed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL, centrocytic lymphoma according to the Kiel classification) refractory to salvage chemotherapy. The patient underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from a HLA-identical brother after myeloablative chemotherapy consisting of busulfan, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide. The patient experienced hepatic toxicity (grade I), mucositis (grade II) according the Bearman scale, and graft versus host disease of the skin (grade II) and showed stable engraftment with complete chimerism on day 15 after bone marrow transplantation. Eight years after transplantation, the patient is still disease free and in good condition without any late side effects. This report suggests a curative potential of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in MCL.