Stem Cell Transplant for Hodgkin Lymphoma

A stem cell transplant (SCT) is sometimes used for hard-to-treat Hodgkin lymphoma. For example, it might be used if the lymphoma:

• Doesn’t go away completely after chemotherapy (chemo) and/or radiation
• Comes back after treatment

Why are stem cell transplants used for Hodgkin lymphoma?

Standard chemo doses aren’t always able to cure Hodgkin lymphoma. Higher doses might kill more cancer cells, but they normally can’t be used because they severely damage the bone marrow, where new blood cells are made.

A stem cell transplant lets doctors give higher doses of chemo.

After getting high-dose chemo, you get an infusion (transplant) of blood-forming stem cells to rebuild your bone marrow.

The blood-forming stem cells used for a transplant can come either from blood or from bone marrow. Today, most transplants are done with cells taken out of the blood. This is called a peripheral stem cell transplant.

Types of stem cell transplant

There are 2 main types of stem cell transplant. Each type uses different sources of blood-forming stem cells.

• Autologous transplant – type most often used for Hodgkin lymphoma
• Allogeneic transplant – may be an option for some people

Autologous transplant

An autologous transplant uses your own blood stem cells.

This is the most common type of stem cell transplant for Hodgkin lymphoma.

Your stem cells are collected several times in the weeks before treatment. The cells are frozen and stored while you get high-dose chemo. After chemo, they are put back into your blood with an IV.

Allogeneic transplant

An allogeneic transplant uses blood stem cells from someone else.

Usually, an allogeneic transplant is only used for Hodgkin lymphoma if an autologous transplant has already been tried without success.

Blood stem cells for this type of transplant can come from a brother or sister, but they can also come from an unrelated donor or from umbilical cord blood.

Deciding to get a stem cell transplant for Hodgkin lymphoma

A stem cell transplant is a complex treatment that can cause life-threatening side effects.

If your cancer care team thinks you might benefit from a transplant, it’s important to discuss:

• What kind of transplant you’ll have
• The possible side effects
• How long it may take for you to recover

Stem cell transplants should be done at a cancer center where the staff has experience with the procedure and with managing the recovery phase.