Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the tonsil. Experience of treatment over a 27-year period.

Over the 27-year period from 1954-1981, 51 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma arising in the tonsil were treated at the Regional Radiotherapy Centre, Mount Vernon Hospital. The original biopsy material was reviewed in each case and reclassified using the British National Lymphoma Investigation criteria. Grade 2 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was reported in 80 per cent of cases. Ninety per cent of patients presented in stages IE or IIE and were treated with radical local radiotherapy. A 5-year survival of 51 per cent was achieved and a 5-year relapse-free survival of 35 per cent. Stage IE patients had a statistically significant survival advantage compared to stage IIE. Sixty-one per cent of patients relapsed, of whom 74 per cent died from active lymphoma. The abdomen was the most frequent site for relapse with involvement of both nodal and extranodal sites.