Autologous bone marrow transplantation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is an indolent disease characterized by an abnormal proliferation of monoclonal lymphocytes in the bone marrow and lymphoid tissues. Most of the cases (> 90%) belong to the B-lymphocyte lineage and the course of the disease is variable depending on the presence of poor prognostic factors at diagnosis. Therefore optimal treatment is still questioned; presently there are no proven cures for CLL, but the natural history of the disease and the advanced age of the majority of patients makes prolongation of survival a reasonable therapeutic goal in most cases. The traditional therapeutic approach has been based on the activity of alkylating agents and corticosteroid, while patients resistant have been treated with nucleoside analogs. However, patients ultimately relapse and the choice of salvage therapy by conventional methods does not offer many chances. Particularly in younger patients, with poor prognostic factors, the therapeutic options may substantially change in the near future, based on alternative and innovative approaches aimed at achieving cure or long disease-free-survival. The results of high-dose therapy followed by reinfusion of hematopoietic stem cells, either from bone marrow or peripheral blood, will be presented and discussed.