[The role of adjuvant radiotherapy in the complex treatment of stage III-IV aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma].

Immediate and end results of chemoradiotherapy of 225 patients (average age--43 years) with primary aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas stage III-IV were evaluated. Stage 1 of treatment included 4-8 cycles of chemotherapy (ACOP and other standard protocols); stage 2--irradiation of residual foci with 20-50 Gy, or 20-36 Gy for originally extensive and extralymphatic foci when in full remission. The latter's rate rose from 24 to 65% (p < or = 0.05) following adjuvant radiotherapy although that of failures remained unchanged. The disease is specific, so relapse-free survival in cases of generalized primary aggressive lymphoma in full remission remained unchanged too whatever the stage at which full remission emerged.