|  | Conditions Treatments | Diseases

Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Bone Marrow Transplant Prognosis

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S., and about 65,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the Merck Manual. It is a cancer of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. Bone marrow transplants are generally only considered when remission is incomplete or in case of a relapse.

  1. Candidates

    • Bone marrow transplants are not appropriate options for all non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients. Generally, those who may be considered are those who are younger and in good general health, with a suitable donor if allogeneic transplant is an option.

    Allogeneic vs. Autologous

    • There are two basic types of bone marrow transplants, with differing prognoses. Allogeneic is when someone else who is a good match donates marrow and is a risky procedure because of rejection possibilities, where autologous is when a person's own blood-forming cells are used.

    Aggressive lymphoma success rate

    • A transplant in the case of an aggressive lymphoma type, including non-Hodgkin's types, has a cure rate of between 30 and 50 percent, according to the Merck Manual.

    Indolent lymphoma

    • Indolent or slow-growing lymphomas, including non-Hodgkin lymphomas, while having a longer survival rate are harder to cure even with bone marrow transplant. However they may have a positive cure rate when a lower intensity form of allotranplantation is used.

    Mortality rates

    • Transplant mortality rates have dropped over recent years, and is now 2 to 5 percent for autologous procedures and less than 15 percent for allogeneic ones in treating non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, according to the Merck Manual.

Diseases - Related Articles