Combination Chemotherapy Plus Peripheral Stem Cell Transplantation With or Without Rituximab in Treating Patients With Relapsed Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Relapsed or resistant follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)

  * No evidence of transformation to high grade or diffuse large B-cell NHL
* CD20 positive with no evidence of transformation
* Achievement of complete remission (CR) or very good partial remission (VGPR) following reinduction chemotherapy with any standard regimen

  * Includes patients who fail to respond to first-line chemotherapy but who achieve CR or VGPR after proceeding directly to second-line chemotherapy
* Platelet count greater than 100,000/mm\^3 after induction chemotherapy and before randomization
* No CNS involvement

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

* 18 and over

Performance status:

* WHO 0-1

Life expectancy:

* Not specified

Hematopoietic:

* See Disease Characteristics

Hepatic:

* Bilirubin normal
* ALT no greater than 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Alkaline phosphatase no greater than 2 times ULN
* Hepatitis B negative
* Hepatitis C negative

Renal:

* Creatinine no greater than 2 times ULN
* BUN no greater than 2 times ULN

Cardiovascular:

* No inadequate cardiac function

Pulmonary:

* No inadequate pulmonary function

Other:

* Not pregnant or nursing
* HIV negative
* No other uncontrolled serious medical conditions
* No other malignancy within the past 5 years except nonmelanoma skin tumors or carcinoma in situ of the cervix

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

* More than 12 months since prior CD20 therapy, including rituximab
* No prior peripheral blood stem cell transplantation

Chemotherapy:

* See Disease Characteristics
* No more than 3 prior chemotherapy regimens for NHL

Endocrine therapy:

* Not specified

Radiotherapy:

* No prior radiotherapy to greater than 30% of bone marrow

Surgery:

* Not specified