Autologous bone marrow transplantation for pediatric Hodgkin's disease: a case-matched comparison with adult patients by the European Bone Marrow Transplant Group Lymphoma Registry.

PURPOSE: We analyzed the outcome of autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) in pediatric and adult patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) by means of a case-controlled study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty-one pediatric HD patients who had undergone ABMT and who had been reported to the European Bone Marrow Transplant Group (EBMTG) Lymphoma Registry were compared with a case-matched group of 81 adult patients who had undergone the same procedure. The case-matching was performed following selection of the main prognostic factors for progression-free survival (PFS) by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The PFS rate was not significantly different between the groups (39% for the pediatric group v 48% for the adult group). The overall relapse/progression rates for the groups were 52% and 40%, respectively. This was not a statistically significant difference and the sites of relapse were similar. There was no significant difference in the incidence or causes of procedure-related morbidity or mortality of the two groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that patients with pediatric HD have the same outcome at ABMT as their adult counterparts; however, long-term complications will need to be carefully monitored.