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A 76 year old woman is hospitalized for bilateral breast masses and neurological impairment. Her medical history is marked by rheumatoid arthritis treated with gold salts and methylprednisolone. Blood tests reveal pancytopenia; the MRI scan of the brain is suggestive of a CNS lymphoma. The pathologic examination of a breast mass specimen confirms the lymphoid nature of the neoplasm. This case report highlights the multifocal or systemic nature of non hodgkin's lymphoma and the diagnostic pitfalls of breast lymphomas. Rheumatoid arthritis and its medical management are reviewed for their possible roles in oncogenesis.

Only in the last decade have autologous grafts begun to be studied extensively. Their most attractive feature is the avoidance of GVHD. However, GVHD has antitumoral effect on residual leukemic cells called "graft versus leukemia" effect and better understanding of this phenomenon explains the higher relapse rate after autologous bone marrow transplantation. New approaches such as cyclosporin--induced GVHD and IL-2 administration after autograft bring great expectations in this field. Colony stimulating factors and harvesting of peripheral stem cells help to reduce the duration of neutropenia. Finally, various techniques for marrow purging and hematopoietic cell isolation should make it possible to eliminate minimal residual disease. Recent results of autologous bone marrow transplantation in various malignancies are discussed.

For severe aplastic anemia and several malignant hemopathies allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is the only treatment with curative potential. This is the case for chronic myelogenous leukemia, the myelodysplastic syndromes and probably multiple myeloma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It seems also the best therapeutic option for young adults who suffer from acute leukemia and for whom an adequate family donor is available. We review here the main complications of the procedure. Their better knowledge and the way to prevent and to treat them has decreased the mortality and morbidity of this treatment which is mostly successful when applied on patients in the early phase of their disease. Recently, the availability of HLA typed registered volunteers has extended the applicability of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for those patients who lack adequate familial donors.