“…Several studies have demonstrated that PCR is a sensitive method for detecting residual lymphoma cells in peripheral blood (PB) or bone marrow (BM), but the clinical significance of detection of these cells has not been conclusively established (Stelter-Stevenson et al, 1988;Price et al, 1991a;Gribben et al, 1991b;Lambrechts et al, 1992). However, in one study reported by Gribben et al (1993Gribben et al ( , 1994 it was clearly demonstrated that, after high-dose myeloablative therapy and autologous BM transplantation (ABMT), the absence of amplifiable sequences in the purged bone marrow, as well as in BM and blood samples obtained after transplantation, correlated with a markedly increased disease-free survival. # 1996 Blackwell Science Ltd, British Journal of Haematology 94: [676][677][678][679][680][681][682][683][684] The presence of the t(14;18)(q32;q21) translocation in the majority of cases of follicular lymphoma (Yunis et al, 1982;Weiss et al, 1987;Lee et al, 1987) offers an opportunity for molecular monitoring of subclinical disease.…”