Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

Correspondence to: Dr S Giralt, Department of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030, USA

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a low-grade lymphoplasmacytoid malignancy of unknown etiology. It primarily affects elderly patients and is characterized by a monoclonal IgM component, varying degrees of cytopenias, lymphadenopathy and manifestations related to hyperviscosity syndromes. WM is usually treated with single agent nucleoside analogues or alkylating agents that often provide high response rates and durable remissions. Recurrence of the disease after primary therapy is not uncommon, and resistance to both alkylating agents and nucleoside analogs eventually emerges. Small numbers of patients have undergone high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with either autologous (n = 24) or allogeneic (n = 6) stem cell transplantation (SCT) as treatment for this disease. Most patients in both groups achieved remission. Results are promising and a more in-depth analysis of possible applications of this treatment modality is attempted with this mini-review.

Bone Marrow Transplantation (2002) 29, 943-947. DOI:10.1038/sj/bmt/1703580

Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia; stem cell transplantation; high-dose chemotherapy