The role of massive therapy with autologous bone marrow transplantation in Burkitt's lymphoma

Burkitt's lymphoma has proved to be a very useful model for the evaluation of both massive therapy regimens and purging techniques. Results from several centres now confirm a number of general principles in relation to the use of ABMT procedures in this tumour. Patients in whom conventional chemotherapy has failed can be cured by massive therapy but this should be limited to those who have responded to salvage regimens or have only achieved first PR. Chemoresistant relapse is unlikely to be cured and the high probability of a transient response does not justify the procedure in such cases. Important ongoing clinical studies include the use of ABMT in first CR for CNS disease or B-cell ALL. Results in allogeneic grafts suggest that current massive therapy regimens are curative in only 20–50% of patients (Appelbaum and Thomas, 1983) and new combinations are, therefore, still required. Phase I and II studies in patients with ‘resistant relapse’ are investigating the use of sequential high-dose alkylating agents and role of TBI.

It is of particular importance to develop effective conventional ‘salvage’ regimens. Recent experience indicates that the combination of high-dose cisplatin and VP 16 is useful; other possibilities include high-dose interferon and high-dose cytarabine. Purging techniques in BL are now at an advanced stage and the combination of immunological and chemical treatments, once of prove efficacy in individual patients at a laboratory level, should be the subject of randomized studies.