Allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplantation for acute nonlymphocytic leukemia

Current results show that 50% of young patients with ANLL who undergo allogeneic BMT experience prolonged DFS and may be cured. Encouraging results with high-dose chemo/radiotherapy and autologous BMT are likewise being reported. In addition, some studies using intensive postremission treatment without BMT have shown results comparable to many transplant series. As better ways of preventing GVHD are found, the morbidity and mortality of allogeneic BMT should be reduced and the benefits of transplantation for curing patients with ANLL should be increased. However, the applicability of allogeneic BMT will remain limited due to the availability of compatible donors whether related or unrelated. Further studies are needed in the use of postremission intensive therapy with and without autologous bone marrow support. However, results to date should engender the same degree of enthusiastic optimism that followed the early reports of improved outcome with allogeneic BMT when applied to first remission patients.