title: Radiotherapy for primary localized (stage I and II) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the oral cavity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the role of radiation therapy in the treatment of primary localized (Stage I: 24 cases and Stage II: 13 cases) non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) of the oral cavity.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 37 patients (27 male, 10 female) with primary localized NHL of the oral cavity have been treated with radiotherapy alone (23 cases) or radiation with chemotherapy (14 cases). The age range was 29 to 86 years (median: 65). Clinical and treatment variables with potential prognostic significance for survival were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Of the 37 patients, 31 (84%) had intermediate-grade lymphomas and six (14%) had high-grade lymphomas. Four patients showed necrotic ulcer in the central portion of the hard palate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 5-year actuarial survival rate for all cases was 73%. The 5-year survival rates for intermediate-grade and high-grade lymphoma were 85% and 14%, respectively. Significant prognostic factors identified by the multivariate analysis were histologic grade of malignancy (p = 0.02) and central necrotic ulcer in the tumor (p = 0.02). Chemotherapy did not improve survival (p = 0.41).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our analysis suggests that radiotherapy alone may be approved as the treatment for localized oral NHL with no ulceration and intermediate histology. However, patients with high-grade lymphoma and/or necrotic ulcer are difficult to cure with radiation alone and aggressive treatment should be advocated to improve survival.
authors.affiliation: Department ofRadiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sunaba
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amagasa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Enomoto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010641:Phenotype; D012008:Recurrence; D015996:Survival Rate