ABSTRACT
Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation became an established method for treatment of hematological malignancies in the early 1970s.1,2 The rationale for allogeneic transplantation is firstly that the bone marrow ablative therapy may have the potential to eradicate the malignant disease. The patient is thereafter saved from the consequences of ablating the marrow by infusion of normal cells from a donor. Secondly, the donor cells per se have a graft-versus-tumor effect.3,4 The exact nature of this effect is not known. However, it is well documented for chronic myelocytic leukemia,4,5 acute leukemia,4,5 and multiple myeloma.6-8 The graft-versus-tumor effect may be different from, but is associated with, graft-versus-host disease.
