Therapeutic progress--review XXVII. High dose chemotherapy in haematological malignancy

Having reviewed conventional chemotherapy of acute leukaemia in the preceding article, a discussion of high dose chemotherapy in haematological malignancy is presented. The indications and side-effects of high dose methotrexate, ifosfamide and etoposide (VP-16) are summarized in tabular form. The toxicity and effectiveness of high dose cytosine arabinoside in the treatment of refractory acute leukaemia is discussed. The use of high dose melphalan to treat patients with multiple myeloma or other tumours is reviewed. The most widely used cytoreductive regimes in bone marrow transplantation, high dose busulphan, high dose cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation are described.