Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in chemotherapy-sensitive lymphoblastic lymphoma: treatment outcome and prognostic factor analysis

Objective: The study evaluated the effectiveness of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) in the treatment of lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 41 patients with chemotherapy-sensitive LL who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from December 1989 to December 2009 in a single institution. Results: HSCT was conducted as first-line consolidation therapy and salvage therapy in 36 and 5 patients, respectively. The median follow-up was 97.1 months (range, 24.6-173.1 months). The 5-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) rate were 64% and 47% for the initially treated patients, respectively, and were both 20% for the relapsed ones. Bone marrow (BM) involvement and chemotherapy cycles prior to transplantation were identified as significant prognostic factors for EFS in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: These results confirm that AHSCT is a reasonable option for chemotherapy-sensitive LL patients in first complete remission (CR1).