Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for relapsed follicular lymphoma: safety profile and clinical outcome in a single-center experience

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is a treatment option for relapsed and recurrent follicular lymphoma (R/R FL); however, its value in the rituximab era remains to be elucidated. To evaluate the safety and clinical outcome of AHSCT for relapsed FL, we present a retrospective series of AHSCT for 30 FL patients (17 male and 13 female) at median age of 49 years. Patients were transplanted in second or subsequent complete or partial response after at least one therapeutic line including chemotherapy and rituximab. Overall, seven patients achieved second or higher complete response (CR) at AHSCT, whereas 23 were transplanted in partial response. Median overall survival (OS) was not reached, whereas progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.8 years. The estimated 10-year OS and PFS were found to be 60 and 33 %, respectively. There was no significant difference in OS and PFS in terms of FLIPI score and disease status at transplant. Median follow-ups from diagnosis and from AHSCT were 4.9 years (range 1.5–18.4 years) and 1.7 years (range 0.03–16.5 years), respectively. Fifteen patients relapsed, and 11 out of them (73 %) died of disease recurrence and chemoresistance. At the last contact, 19 patients are alive: 12 are in CR, whereas seven patients receive salvage regimens due to active lymphoma. AHSCT for relapsed FL patients who were pretreated with rituximab remains a safe procedure with low transplant-related mortality and long-term progression-free survival in about one-third of transplanted patients.