Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of childhood and adolescence: results of a treatment stratified for biologic subtypes and stage--a report of the Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster Group.

PURPOSE

To prove the efficacy of a treatment stratified according to histology for children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including acute B-cell leukemia (B-ALL).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From October 1986 to March 1990, 302 assessable patients, 0.6 to 17.8 years of age, with newly diagnosed NHL were enrolled onto study ALL/NHL-BFM 86. Fifty percent of patients had Burkitt-type lymphomas, including B-ALL; 24% had lymphoblastic lymphoma; 18% had diffuse large-cell lymphoma; and 8% had an NHL not further classified. Therapy group B included Burkitt's-type lymphomas, B-ALL, and most large-cell lymphomas including Ki-1 anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. Patients with stage I and II disease resected received three, while all others received six, 5-day therapy courses (dexamethasone, methotrexate [MTX] 0.5 g/m2 [5 g/m2 for stage IV and B-ALL], and intrathecal [IT] therapy in each course, plus ifosfamide, cytarabine, and etoposide alternating with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin). Therapy for group non-B patients (lymphoblastic lymphoma and pleomorphic T-cell lymphoma [PTCL]) consisted of a Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (BFM) acute lymphoblastic leukemia protocol, including cranial irradiation for advanced stage. Local therapy was restricted to patients with incomplete tumor regression.

RESULTS

The probabilities of event-free survival (pEFS) at 7 years were 80% +/- 2% for the whole group, 81% +/- 3% for group B (n = 225), and 78% +/- 5% for group non-B (n = 77) with a follow-up duration of 3.6 to 7 years (median 5 years). Treatment results were comparable between NHL subtypes, except for PTCL, in which three of four patients suffered from relapse. Local disease manifestations were the most frequent site of failure.

CONCLUSION

This therapy strategy provided patients of all NHL subtypes with an equally high chance to survive event-free, except patients with PTCL. With reduced systemic failure, local tumor control may become more important.