Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - Transplantation

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The Blood Stem Cell Collection Procedure. With peripheral blood stem cell transplantation:

• The donor is usually given a drug called granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, or G-CSF (filgrastim, lenograstim, pegfilgrastim) to stimulate stem cell growth.
• The patient (or donor in an allogeneic procedure) then undergoes apheresis. With this process the blood is withdrawn from one of the patient's veins, then passes through a machine that filters out the white cells and platelets, which contain the stem cells. The blood is returned through another vein. The entire procedure takes 3 - 4 hours but needs to be repeated several times.
• The stem cells are treated to remove contaminants and then are frozen to keep them alive until the patient is ready to receive them back.

The Transplantation Procedure

• Allogeneic transplants are preceded by chemotherapy treatment known as conditioning. The goal of this treatment is to inactivate the immune system and to kill any residual malignant cells. It is extremely toxic since it also destroys non-malignant marrow cells.
• A few days after treatment, the patient is given the stored stem cells, which are administered through a vein. This may take several hours. Patients may have a fever, chills, hives, shortness of breath, or a fall in blood pressure during the procedure.
• The patient may be treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor after chemotherapy. The goal is to stimulate the growth of infection-fighting white blood cells. Adding thrombopoietin may help enhance stem cell production.
• The patient is kept in a protected environment to minimize infection. Patients who have received an allogeneic transplant may need blood cell replacement, nutritional support, and drugs to treat graft-versus host disease. They can usually leave the hospital within 3 - 5 weeks.

Transplantation Side Effects and Complications

Stem-cell transplantation is a serious and complex procedure that can cause many short- and long-term side effects and complications. Early side effects of transplantation are similar to chemotherapy and include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, mouth sores, and loss of appetite. Bleeding due to reduced platelets is a high risk during the first four weeks. Later side effects include fertility problems (if the ovaries are affected), thyroid gland problems (which can affect metabolism), lung damage (which can cause breathing problems) and bone damage. In younger people, there is a small long-term risk for development of secondary cancers such as leukemia.

Two of the most serious complications of transplantation are infection and graft-versus-host disease.