title: Conservative management of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in childhood.
abstract: Among 447 children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) on the childhood U.K. registry, seven children with follicular (NHL) were identified. Four were male and their age ranged from 4.25 to 13.5 years (median 7.5); all had localized disease, Murphy's stage I (n = 4) and II (n = 3). Sites involved at presentation were cervical lymph nodes and tonsils (n = 5), ileum (n = 1) and parotid gland (n = 1). Three had complete surgical excision only and four had complete (n = 1) or incomplete excision (n= 3) followed by a short multi-agent chemotherapy regimen (UKCCSG 9001 protocol). With a median follow-up of 1.5 years (range 0.25-5 years) from diagnosis, six are alive in complete remission (CR) including three who had no chemotherapy. These results confirm previous reports that follicular lymphomas in children are rare (1.5%) and tend to be localized at presentation. Their rarity makes it difficult to produce guidelines about treatment, but in localized cases a period of non-intervention may be justified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Oncology, The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, Sutton, Surrey.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atra
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Meller
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hobson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grundy
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Pinkerton
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents