Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of Waldeyer's ring: an appraisal of therapeutic effect.
From July 1978 to June 1987, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed in 667 patients at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Forty-eight (7%) patients presented primarily with involvement of Waldeyer's ring; their provisional clinical stage was I or II. The tonsils represented the most frequent site of involvement within Waldeyer's ring. A work-up showed 33.3% of patients with stage I, 50% with stage II, 8.3% with stage III and 8.3% with stage IV. All the patients had diffuse lymphomas. Diffuse large cell (46%) and immunoblastic lymphomas (23%) were the most common histologic subtypes. Eight patients received radiotherapy alone, 39 patients were treated with combination chemotherapy with or without local radiation and one patient was lost to follow-up. Eleven of 16 stage I (69%) and 18 of 23 stage II (78%) patients achieved a complete remission. The median survival for stage I patients was over 54 months and the median survival of stage II was 72 months. There was no significant difference between the stage I and II patients with lymphoma of Waldeyer's ring with respect to the complete remission rate and survival. Stage I patients had a relapse-free survival rate of 55% at 4 years, similar to that (49%) of stage II patients at 8 years. We recommend that chemotherapy be used as primary therapy for those patients with localized aggressive lymphoma of Waldeyer's ring.
Dunn
P
P
Shih
L Y
LY
Liaw
S J
SJ
Kuo
T T
TT
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D014067:Tonsillar Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*