Radiation therapy for stage I primary orbital non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
OBJECTIVE
The orbit is an uncommon primary site for non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), and it accounts for less than 1% of all sites of primary presentations. We report the experience of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine with radiation therapy in treatment of patients with stage I primary orbital NHL.


METHODS
From February 1978 through August 1993, 14 patients with stage I primary orbital NHL were treated with radiation therapy. According to the Working Formulation classification, 8 patients had low-grade and 6 had intermediate-grade lymphomas. The most commonly used radiation therapy technique was a single anterior field with a Cobalt-60 unit, delivering 40 Gy in 2 Gy daily fractions. Two patients with intermediate-grade lymphomas received the CHOP regimen following radiation therapy.


RESULTS
Follow-up ranged from 0.8 to 18.3 years (median, 10.3 years). Local control was achieved in all patients. Two patients with low-grade lymphomas relapsed locally and were successfully salvaged with radiation therapy. Three patients with intermediate-grade lymphomas failed systemically. Salvage therapy consisted of combination chemotherapy for 2 of them but was unsuccessful. Overall survival probabilities at 2, 5 and 10 years were 78.6%, 61.1% and 52.4%, respectively, for the entire group of 14 patients. Overall, cause-specific and disease-free survival probabilities were higher for patients with low-grade lymphomas than for those with intermediate-grade lymphomas (P = 0.03, P = 0.03 and P = 0.06, respectively). Cataracts were observed in 9 and lacrimal disorders in 4 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The study suggests that among stage I primary orbital NHL, low-grade lymphomas could be treated with radiation therapy alone, whereas combination chemotherapy could accompany radiation therapy for intermediate-grade lymphomas.
Erkal
H S
HS
Department of Radiation Oncology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. he04-k@tr-net.net.tr
Serin
M
M
Sak
S D
SD
Cakmak
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015993:Life Tables; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009918:Orbital Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome