Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in adults with Burkitt's lymphoma or acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission

J Clin Oncol. 1990 May;8(5):809-12. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1990.8.5.809.

Abstract

The prognosis of adults with Burkitt's lymphoma is very poor and depends on initial CNS and/or bone marrow involvement. We report results in nine adult patients with CNS (n = 9) and/or bone marrow involvement (n = 7) treated in first complete remission (CR) with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). CNS treatment before the conditioning regimen consisted of cranial irradiation at 15 Gy (n = 8) and intrathecal chemotherapy (n = 9). The conditioning regimen included cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation (TBI) in a single dose. No postgraft CNS prophylaxis was administered. At the present time, seven patients are alive and disease-free at 18, 23, 44, 47, 54, 54, and 59 months. Two patients died at 14 and 7 months from transfusion-related acquired immune deficiency syndrome and bacterial septicemia and were disease-free at the time of their death. These preliminary results should encourage the use of BMT. A prospective randomized trial is warranted to further specify and investigate the advantages of allogeneic BMT versus conventional chemotherapy.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
  • Bone Marrow / pathology
  • Bone Marrow Transplantation* / adverse effects
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / pathology
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / surgery*
  • Burkitt Lymphoma / therapy
  • Central Nervous System / pathology
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Female
  • Graft vs Host Disease / etiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / pathology
  • Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / surgery*
  • Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / therapy
  • Prognosis
  • Remission Induction
  • Whole-Body Irradiation