[Autograft of blood stem cells]

Autologous blood stem cell transplantation (ABSCT) is a new technique which has been increasingly used in recent years. It is now well established that ABSCT can be performed as safely as autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) when high numbers of hemopoietic precursors are infused. Multiple leukophoreses are performed during marrow regeneration following chemotherapy-induced aplasia. Hemopoietic recovery (predominantly the granulocytic series) is probably faster after ABSCT than after ABMT. Among other advantages there may be minimal contamination by residual tumor cells in buffy-coats; however, this has not been fully investigated.