Bone-marrow transplantation in acute leukaemia

Survival in 33 patients with resistant leukaemia treated by marrow transplantation was compared with that of 37 matched patients treated by conventional and experimental chemotherapy. All patients in the transplant group were rendered free of detectable leukaemia for periods of from 36 days to more than 2 1/2 years, while only 6 patients in the chemotherapy group achieved a haematological remission. Overall survival in both groups was poor; however, 5 patients (15%) in the transplant group remain alive and in haematological remission 1--2 1/2 years after transplantation, while no patient in the chemotherapy group survived longer than 13 months. Bone-marrow transplantation appears to offer a small but distinct possibility of long-term survival in patients with acute leukaemia resistant to conventional therapy.