Hillard M. Lazarus, MD, FACP

Over the past 3 decades, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has become a lifesaving art that is applied to a variety of malignant and nonmalignant disorders.[1] In the 1970s, several groups demonstrated that advanced leukemia and aplastic anemia patients were cured using sibling-matched allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. By the 1980s, many published reports confirmed that relapsed and refractory lymphoma patients could attain long-term disease-free survival as a result of utilizing autologous bone marrow transplantation.

The number of new cases of Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosed and treated each year are increasing. Although human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and toxins in the environment and workplace may be responsible for the development of these diseases in some patients, explanations for this increase remain elusive. Lymphoid malignancies continue to be among the most responsive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, however, and a sizeable percentage of affected patients are cured after primary therapy.