Results of radiotherapy in control of stage I and II non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma

• Published in: Cancer 1979-04, Vol.43 (4), p.1245-1254
• Main Authors: Chen, Michael G., Prosnitz, Leonard R., Gonzalez‐Serva, Aldo, Fischer, Diana B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biopsy; Bone Marrow - pathology; Humans; Lymphography; Lymphoma - mortality; Lymphoma - pathology; Lymphoma - radiotherapy; Neoplasm Staging
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(197904)43:4<1245::AID-CNCR2820430412>3.0.CO;2-Z

We retrospectively analyzed 114 patients with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma, clinical stages I and II, classified by the criteria of Rappaport and treated by radiotherapy alone. Of 84 patients classifiable, one‐third were nodular and two‐thirds diffuse lymphomas. Berkson‐Gage actuarial and relapse‐free survivals were determined for these two groups and for subgroups stratified by histology, stage, and by presence or absence of extranodal disease. Five year relapse‐free and overall survivals were 83% and 100%, respectively, for the nodular group and 37% and 59% for the diffuse group. Extranodal involvement was less frequent in the nodular (19%) than in the diffuse (52%) group, where it was associated with Stage IE disease and increased relapse‐free and actuarial survival. Histopathological subtype in the diffuse group (histiocytic versus combined lymphocytic poorly differentiated and mixed lymphocytic‐histiocytic) did not influence survival. Extranodal involvement and stage I disease were associated with better survival in the diffuse histiocytic group. Successful radiotherapy for all stages of disease, all histologies, was not correlated with extended versus involved fields, and 89% of the relapses in the entire series were by wide dissemination.