Clinical analysis of malignant lymphomas of tonsils.

Data of 38 patients with primary tonsil lymphoma, treated during the past 14 years was analysed. All cases were non-Hodgkin lymphomas. There were 11 patients with Stage 1, 14 with Stage II, 8 with Stage III, and 4 with Stage IV tonsillar lymphomas. The applied chemotherapies were CHOP or MACOP-B regimen. The overall 5-year survival rate was 64.4%. Further analysis of the intermediate grade group showed that 5-year survival rates were 72.7%) for patients younger than 60 years old, in contrast to 35.0% for patients aged 60 or older (p 0.0049). Five-year survival rates were 100%) for Stage I, 32.4% for Stage II, 55.6% for Stage III, and 100%) for Stage IV patients (p = 0.0878). In patients with Stage II tonsillar lymphomas, 5-year survival rates were below 100% for CHOP regimen, 100% for MACOP-B regimen, 66.7% for radiation alone, and 0% for radiation followed by chemotherapy (p = 0.1966). In patients with Stage III tonsillar lymphomas, 5-year survival rates were below 100% for MACOP-B regimen, and 0% for initial radiation followed by chemotherapy (p = 0.2568). The factors influencing survival were age, stage, and treatment modality. For Stage I patients without bulky mass, radiation therapy is sufficient. For Stage II patients or Stage I patients with a bulky mass, CHOP regimen (followed by radiation) is the choice of treatment. For Stage III or IV patients,, MACOP-B regimen is promising.