Adjuvant radiotherapy to sites of previous bulky disease in patients stage IV diffuse large cell lymphoma.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the usefulness of adjuvant radiotherapy to sites of previous bulky disease in patients with advanced diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL) who were in complete remission after chemotherapy.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

Two-hundred and eighteen patients were initially treated with combined chemotherapy CEOP-bleo (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine, prednisone, bleomycin) alternating with DAC (dexamethasone, cytosine arabinoside, and cisplatinum). One hundred and fifty-five patients achieved complete remission. Eighty-eight patients with initial bulky disease were randomly assigned to either received (43 patients) or not received radiotherapy (45 patients). Dose ranged from 40-50 Gy.

RESULTS

The median time to treatment failure has not been reached in patients who received radiotherapy. At 5 years 72% of the patients treated with the combined therapy remain alive disease in free compared to only 35% in the control group. Projected survival at 5 years was better in the patients with adjuvant radiotherapy: 81% compared to 55% in the patients who received no radiotherapy. Toxicity was mild and manageable. No lethal toxicities were observed.

CONCLUSION

This treatment sequence produced durable control disease in patients with disseminated DLCL and bulky disease with acceptable toxicity. The role of radiation therapy in patients with disseminated DLCL will be confirmed in large clinical trials, but we felt that this sequence of treatment could be useful in patients with this clinical condition.