RATIONALE: Diagnostic procedures, such as fluorine 18-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) scans, may help doctors predict a patient's response to treatment and help plan the best treatment.

PURPOSE: This phase I trial is studying fluorine 18-fludeoxyglucose PET scan to see how well it predicts outcomes in patients who have undergone high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES:

• To determine if a fluorine 18-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan, performed as early as day 30 after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, may be useful in identifying patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who may benefit from early interventions, including reduced intensity stem cell transplantation or additional therapy, to preempt disease relapse and improve overall survival.

OUTLINE: Conventional imaging, biopsy, and clinical examination findings are reviewed to determine patient clinical outcome (e.g., complete remission, disease progression/relapse, or death related to the primary disease).

Inclusion Criteria:

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

• Has undergone high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation at Vanderbilt University between March 1997 and August 2005

  • Has undergone fluorine 18-fludeoxyglucose PET within 70 days prior to and/or at approximately 30 days and 100 days after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation

Exclusion Criteria:

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

Patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma