High-dose chemoradiotherapy and bone marrow transplantation in patients with refractory lymphoma

Eight adult patients with refractory Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were treated with high-dose combination chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, BCNU and VP-16) or with cyclophosphamide and fractionated whole-body irradiation (TBI), followed by bone marrow transplant (BMT). Six patients received autologous and two patients allogeneic BMT. Five patients achieved complete remissions, and three of them (two with undifferentiated lymphoma, one with lymphoblastic lymphoma) are alive and free of disease 4-18+ months after BMT. The other two complete responders died of opportunistic infections 2 and 5 months, respectively, after BMT. One patient with HD achieved partial remission and is alive 18+ months after BMT. Two patients were considered failures: one developed leptomeningeal disease 24 days after BMT, and the other died of progressive lymphoma 7 months after BMT. Engraftment and prompt hematologic recovery occurred in all patients. The major toxicity included two fatal infections and one case of diffuse idiopathic interstitial pneumonitis. High-dose chemotherapy with or without TBI followed by BMT appears to produce a high response rate and, although associated with toxicity, it demonstrates the potential for salvaging patients with refractory lymphoma who otherwise would have a dismal prognosis.