Effect of splenectomy before bone-marrow transplantation on survival in chronic granulocytic leukaemia

Splenectomy is commonly carried out before bone-marrow transplantation in chronic granulocytic leukaemia to reduce tumour burden and prevent relapse and blastic transformation. In a retrospective analysis of 210 European patients transplanted between 1980 and 1984, 105 splenectomised and 105 not, neither splenectomy nor splenic irradiation was found to alter survival and relapse. Debulking in this disease is of no value, and routine splenectomy before transplantation should be abandoned.