A retrospective study of 82 patients was conducted to determine the relationship of absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) recovery with clinical outcome after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in Hodgkin's disease (HD). The median overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) times from the day of transplantation were significantly better for the 41 patients with ALC > or = 0.5 x 10(9) cells/l compared with the 41 patients with ALC < 0.5 x 10(9) cells/l ("not yet reached" versus 42 months, P < 0.0001; 57 versus 15 months, P < 0.002 respectively). Thus, ALC recovery on day 15 post ASCT in HD is associated with better survival and requires further study.