Collecting Stem Cells in Patients With Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia

OBJECTIVES:

- Harvest and store adequate CD34+ stem cells from patients with Waldenstrom's
macroglobulinemia (WM) for potential future use in transplantation strategies.

- Evaluate the ability to harvest stem cells after therapy for WM (e.g.,
fludarabine-based chemotherapy) by evaluating the number of days to adequate harvest.

- Collect aliquots of stem cells for future research analysis as part of a WM database
project.

OUTLINE: Patients undergo collection of autologous stem cells beginning on day 4 or 5 and
continuing until an adequate number of stem cells are collected. Cells are then
cryopreserved.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 40 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Diagnosis of Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM)

- Less than 30% lymphoplasmacytoid cells in bone marrow by histopathology

- Received prior chemotherapy for WM

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- ECOG performance status 0-1

- WBC > 2,000/mm³

- Platelet count > 50,000/mm³

- LVEF ≥ 50%

- No organ dysfunction that would preclude future transplantation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- See Disease Characteristics