Autologous stem cell transplantation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been intensively investigated for treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) during recent years. To assess the potential therapeutic value of ASCT for CLL, the present article aims at answering the following crucial questions: (1) Does ASCT have curative potential? (2) What is the therapeutic potential of ASCT in terms of disease control in relation to toxicity? (3) What is the role of ASCT in the current arsenal of CLL treatment modalities? Evidence from clinical and minimal residual disease (MRD) studies suggests that ASCT has curative potential in only a few patients, if any. Nevertheless, ASCT might be capable of prolonged disease control even in CLL with poor-risk features. Uncontrolled prospective studies have indicated the superiority of ASCT over alkylator and fludarabine monotherapy but not necessarily over purine analogue cyclophosphamide or antibody combinations. A significant risk of secondary neoplasms, in particular myelodysplasias, has to be taken into account. Therefore, ASCT cannot be considered as standard treatment for CLL and should be performed only in the context of clinical trials.