DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed intermediate or high grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that meets one of the following criteria: - Relapsed or progressed following at least 1 course of standard therapy - Developed from a low grade lymphoma regardless of remission status - In first complete response with 3 or more of the following pretreatment criteria met at the time of original diagnosis: Stage III/IV disease Two or more extranodal sites of disease Lactate dehydrogenase greater than 1.2 times normal Performance status 2-4 (at time of diagnosis) Dimension of the largest tumor at least 10 cm No myelodysplasia A new classification scheme for adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been adopted by PDQ. The terminology of "indolent" or "aggressive" lymphoma will replace the former terminology of "low", "intermediate", or "high" grade lymphoma. However, this protocol uses the former terminology.