CD4+ T lymphocyte counts after autologous transplantation in multiple myeloma: a retrospective study.

The risk for opportunistic infections is correlated with low CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in patients with HIV. We performed a retrospective analysis in 54 patients with multiple myeloma undergoing high-dose melphalan chemotherapy + autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation to better define the value of routine control of CD4+ T lymphocyte counts in this important patient group. In 61% of our patients, CD4+ T lymphocyte counts after recovery from neutropenia were <200/microl and <100/microl in 24% (median = 181/microl). Overall survival, progression-free survival, response to antineoplastic therapy and frequency of post-transplant infections were not significantly different when patients with CD4+ T lymphocyte counts <200/microl and >200/microl were compared. However, overall survival was significantly shorter in the subgroup of 13 patients with very low CD4+ T lymphocyte counts (<100/microl) (P = 0.036). In 79.6% of all patients, at least one infection NCI-CTC grade II - IV developed within 100 days post-transplant. Opportunistic infections were rare. This analysis suggests that patients with CD4+ T lymphocyte counts < 100/microl may have a poorer prognosis.

High dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: High-dose chemotherapy (HDT) with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) plays an important role in the treatment of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We report on a retrospective analysis of all patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who were consecutively treated with HDT followed by ASCT at the University Hospital of Bonn, Germany, between 1996 and 2004. METHODS: A total of 25 patients were transplanted for biopsy-proven diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Eight patients received up-front HDT as first-line therapy, four patients received HDT due to incomplete response to conventional induction chemotherapy, and six patients were treated for primary refractory disease. Seven patients had recurrent lymphoma. RESULTS: A complete remission (CR) was achieved in 14 of 25 patients (56%). Estimated 3-year survival for patients treated with upfront HDT, chemosensitive patients with incomplete response to first line therapy, and patients with chemosensitive relapsed disease was 87.5%, 50.0% and 60.0%, respectively. In contrast, no patient with primary refractory disease or relapsed disease lacking chemosensitivity lived longer than 8 months. Chemosensitivity was the only significant prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that HDT and ASCT is a highly effective therapy in patients with DLBCL leading to long-term survival in a substantial proportion of patients. Patients treated upfront for high-risk disease, incomplete response to conventional first-line therapy, or for chemosensitive relapse have a good prognosis. In contrast, patients with primary chemorefractory disease and patients with relapsed disease lacking chemosensitivity do not benefit from HDT with ASCT.