Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Conventional therapies for chronic lymphocytic leukemia are not likely to provide a cure, prompting the use of more aggressive approaches. High-dose therapy with autologous and allogeneic bone marrow or blood stem cell transplantation appear to induce a prolonged period of disease-free survival in selected patients with this indolent disease. Significant questions were raised, however, in terms of survival benefit, the value of purging, the presence of graft-versus-leukemia effect, and the timing of transplantation. The survey presents the main results obtained in the area of transplantation for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and critically discusses them in light of the current debate.