Treatment outcome of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue/marginal zone non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the treatment outcome in patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)/marginal zone (MZ) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).


METHODS
Between 1986 and 2000, 66 patients with clinical stage (CS) I-IV MALT/MZ NHL were treated; these comprise the study population. The progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier technique. Forty-five patients (68%) had CS I-II and 21 (32%) had CS III-IV disease. Twenty-nine of the 45 CS I-II patients received radiation therapy (RT) alone, and 6 patients had surgery and RT. The median RT dose was 3350 cGy. Among the 21 CS III-IV patients, treatment included chemotherapy alone (15), chemotherapy + RT (3), surgery (1), surgery + chemotherapy (1), and RT alone (1). Median follow-up was 48 months.


RESULTS
All 35 early-stage and all 4 advanced-stage patients who received RT as part of initial treatment achieved local control. Among the 63 evaluable patients, the 5-year OS and PFS were 90 and 57%, respectively. The 5-year OS was 93% and PFS was 75% among CS I-II patients; the corresponding estimates in CS III-IV patients were 83% and 14%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Modest doses of RT provide excellent local control in patients with MALT/MZ NHL. The poor PFS in advanced-stage patients suggests the need to develop alternative systemic treatment strategies for this disease.
Hitchcock
Stacie
S
Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Ng
Andrea K
AK
Fisher
David C
DC
Silver
Barbara
B
Bernardo
M Patricia
MP
Dorfman
David M
DM
Mauch
Peter M
PM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003230:Conjunctival Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018442:Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009918:Orbital Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D010307:Parotid Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D012008:Recurrence; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome