title: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in children: disease pattern and survival.
abstract: The use of intensive chemotherapy and incorporation of prophylactic treatment of the central nervous system have dramatically improved the outcome of children with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The authors analyzed retrospectively the disease characteristics and survival data of 34 children with NHL during a 7-year period. There were 26 boys and 8 girls with a median age of 8 years. The primary sites were the abdomen (41%) and peripheral node (41%). Histopathologically lymphoblastic and undifferentiated lymphoma (small nonclaved cell lymphoma) were equally distributed (41%). Thirteen patients had localized disease (stage I and II) and 21 patients had advanced disease (stage III and IV). Surgical removal of the primary tumor was done in 6 patients with localized gastrointestinal lesions. All 34 patients received chemotherapy, either cyclophosphamide, vincristine, methotrexate, and prednisolone (COMP) or adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone (ACOP). Thirty patients achieved complete remission (88.2%). The 5-year event-free survival rate was 64%. The results indicate that most children with localized disease can be cured by COMP chemotherapy, but more aggressive chemotherapy is necessary to improve survival in advanced-stage disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Oncology, Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kusumakumary
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shanavas
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Priyakumari
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Chellam
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Nair
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis