Bone marrow and Stem Cell Transplantation

   Bone marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation are also being tested in clinical trials for certain patients. Bone marrow transplantation is a type of treatment that uses very high doses of chemotherapy to kill resistant lymphoma cells in the body. The high doses of chemotherapy also destroy most of the bone marrow in the body. To replace the bone marrow, marrow is taken from the bones before treatment and treated with drugs or other substances to kill any cancer cells. The marrow is then frozen, and the patient is given high-dose chemotherapy with or without radiation therapy to destroy all of the remaining cancer cells. The marrow that was taken out is then thawed and given to the patient through a needle in a vein to replace the marrow that was destroyed. If the bone marrow comes from the patient, this type of transplant is called an autologous transplant. If the marrow is taken from another person, the transplant is called an allogeneic transplant. In peripheral blood stem transplantation, stem cells are removed from the patient's circulating blood before treatment and then returned after treatment. In peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, the stem cells usually come from the patient.