Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplants to Treat Lymphoma

Embryonic stem cells,
image by Nissim Benvenisty

Bone Marrow Transplants (BMTs) and their cousin the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplant (PBSCT) are moving from the clinical trial area to mainstream treatment for many cancers, including Hodgkin's Disease and Medium/High grade (aggressive) Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Transplants are used often for patients who relapse from standard chemotherapy.

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has been used to treat lymphoma for over ten years, much of that time on a trial basis but now much more in the mainstream. Sometimes lymphoma becomes resistant to treatment with radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Very high doses of chemotherapy may then be used to treat the cancer.

Because the high doses of chemotherapy can destroy the patient's bone marrow, marrow is taken from the bones before treatment. The marrow is then frozen, and the patient is given high-dose chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to treat the cancer. The marrow that was taken out is then thawed and given back through a needle in a vein to replace the marrow that was destroyed. This type of transplant is called an autologous transplant. If the marrow given is taken from another person, the transplant is called an allogeneic transplant.

Chemotherapy and Bone Marrow Transplants are one of many treatment options for Lymphoma. If you are looking for some assistance with treatment options, there is a FREE tool available to help you understand your treatment options and possible side effects.Click here to sign up for FREE.

Embryonic stem cells
image by Nissim Benvenisty

Another type of autologous transplant is called a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT). The patient's blood is passed through a machine that removes the stem cells (immature cells from which all blood cells develop), then returns the blood to the body. This procedure is called apheresis and usually takes 3 or 4 hours over one or more days to complete. The stem cells may be treated with drugs to kill any cancer cells and then frozen until they are transplanted back to the patient. This procedure may be done alone or with an autologous bone marrow transplant. Studies have shown that PBSCT results in shorter hospital stays, is safer, and more cost effective than BMTs.

Some centers have looked into transplants after first remission as a preventative measure.

Information is again key to getting a grip on transplants. Besides the information below, consider joining the bmt-talk mailing list hosted by Laurel Simmons.

Lymphoma BMT & PBSCT Information

Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Information from the US National Cancer Institute

The Blood and Marrow Transplant Newsletter (formerly the BMT Newsletter) is the source of information on transplants. They have a great website with an archive of their information and online books.

The Treatment Process from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Apheresis / Stem Cell Collection

Apheresis (pheresis/leukapheresis) is the collection of stem cells for a transplant. Thanks to the people at COBE® BCTTM, we now have a good introduction to stem cell collection.

Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) is a treatment agent used to stimulate the production of granulocytes in the bone marrow. Manufactured by Amgen under the name Neupogen^® , it is often given during or after chemotherapy to boost the immune system. It is also used before stem cell collection to boost the granulocytes prior to collection.

Dive Deeper

Donor Programs

• US National Bone Marrow Donor Program
• The Cord Blood Registry - a US registry for Umbilical cord blood - a new source of stem cells for transplants
• Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide
• Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust (UK)
• CorCell is a national cord blood collection service

Transplant Centers

• Find a center in the US - by the National Marrow Donor Program (US)
• The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Well known for their transplant programs, Seattle, Washington
• MD Anderson Cancer Center Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at Univ. of Texas
• University of Nebraska Medical Center
• The University of Colorado BMT Program
• Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
• Duke University BMT Program, Durham, NC
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Pediatric SCT
• Johns Hopkins University Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
• University of Minnesota Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, Minneapolis

Lymphoma BMT and Stem Cell Experiences

• Mark Patton is the self-proclaimed "World's Most Transplanted Person", having had 2 BMTs and 3 PBSCTs in the last 14 years. On his site www.BMTresources.org, he has valuable information and his book - Over 140 Things You Need to Know about Your Autologous Bone Marrow or Stem Cell Transplant.
• Kaye's Stem Cell Questions and Answers
• Tony is a Large Cell NHL survivor who underwent a bone marrow transplant. He has a great site.

Catheters and Ports

• The Facts About Intravenous Catheter Lines
• Information on Ports from Li's Pages

Other BMT Resources

• BMT Links via the University of Oklahoma
• The BMT resource page has good information for those with leukemia and lymphoma - one of the best, oldest resources on leukemias on the Internet.
• The Bone Marrow Biopsy from MedlinePlus
• BMT Glossary from the National Marrow Donor Program (US)

For more information on conditions relating to transplants, please see the following pages:

• Adult Hodgkin's Disease
• Adult Hodgkin's Disease: Treatment
• Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• Adult Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Treatment
• Childhood Hodgkin's Disease
• Childhood Hodgkin's Disease: Treatment
• Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
• Childhood Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Treatment
• Childhood Bone Marrow & Stem Cell Transplants