Intensified therapy followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) versus conventional therapy as first-line treatment of follicular lymphoma: a meta-analysis.

There are two different international standards for the treatment of follicular lymphoma (FL): intensified therapy followed by autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT) and conventional therapy in the first-line setting. However, their role remains unclear. Our aim was to define the treatment effect of intensified therapy followed by ASCT compared with conventional therapy as first-line treatment of patients with FL in terms of overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS).