Role of radiation therapy in the treatment of stage I/II mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.
BACKGROUND
Few large studies exist on the outcome of patients treated for stage I/II mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the records of 77 patients consecutively treated for stage I (n = 66) or II (n = 11) MALT lymphoma at our institution. Progression-free survival (PFS), freedom from treatment failure (FFTF), and overall survival (OS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method.


RESULTS
The median follow-up time was 61 months (range 2-177 months). Fifty-two patients (68%) received local radiation therapy (RT) alone, 17 (22%) had surgery followed by adjuvant RT, five (6%) had surgery alone, two (3%) had surgery and chemotherapy, and one patient had chemotherapy alone. The median RT dose was 30 Gy (range 18-40 Gy). The 5-year PFS, FFTF, and OS rates were 76%, 78%, and 91%, respectively. The 5-year PFS (79% versus 50%; P = 0.002) and FFTF (81% versus 50%; P = 0.0004) rates were higher for patients who received RT as compared with patients who did not.


CONCLUSIONS
The prognosis following treatment of stage I/II MALT lymphoma is excellent. RT improves PFS and FFTF and has an important role in the curative treatment of patients with localized disease.
Tsai
H K
HK
Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Li
S
S
Ng
A K
AK
Silver
B
B
Stevenson
M A
MA
Mauch
P M
PM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D018442:Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18