Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: a retrospective analysis of 77 cases.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is a therapeutic option for relapsed, advanced, and otherwise incurable non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) suggested by the existence of a graft-versus-lymphoma effect. The main complications are graft-versus-host disease and infections. We performed a retrospective analysis of patients with NHL, who received an allo-SCT between January 1995 and December 2014. The parameters that had an impact on overall survival were age ≤60 years old, chemosensitive disease pre-allo-SCT, and indolent NHL histology. The parameters that had an impact on progression-free survival were age ≤60 years old and chemosensitive disease pre-allo-SCT. Only aggressive NHL histology and refractory disease pre-allo-SCT showed an increased risk of death in the multivariate model. The use of allo-SCT for young patients with multiple relapsed chemosensitive indolent NHL is a suitable option. Despite poor prognosis, young aggressive NHL patients can be considered for allo-SCT provided they have chemosensitive disease.