[Comparison of the efficacy of CCCG-97 and BFM-90 protocols in the treatment for children with mature B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma].
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the CCCG-97 and BFM-90 protocols in the treatment of pediatric patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (B-NHL) retrospectively, and to explore the optimal therapeutic strategy.


METHODS
Forty-five consecutive untreated patients (age of 18 years or less) with newly diagnosed B-NHL (including Burkitt Lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma), treated in our hospital between July 1999 and December 2008 were enrolled in this study. The patients were classified into 2 groups by different protocols. From July 1999 to December 2004, twenty-one 3- to 13.8-year-old children were enrolled in the CCCG-97 group, with 1 in stage I/II, and 20 in stage III/IV(St Jude staging). From January 2005 to December 2008, twenty-four 2.8- to 14.1-year-old cases were enrolled in the BFM-90 group, with 3 in stage I/II, and 21 in stage III/IV (St Jude staging). The survival rates were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis.


RESULTS
Forty of the 45 patients (88.9%) reached complete response (CR) after 2 courses of chemotherapy. In the CCCG-97 group, the CR rate was 95.2% (20/21 pts), while that in the BFM-90 group was 83.3% (20/24 pts). At a median follow-up time of 62 (17 to 131) months, the 5-year event-free survival (EFS) was 71.8% for all patients, and 69.1% for Stage III/IV, respectively. In the CCCG-97 group, the 3-year EFS was 76.2%. In the BFM-90 group, it was 75.0%. There was no significant difference in survival rates between the CCCG-97 and BFM-90 groups (P=0.975). Unfavorable events recorded were as follows: Death of progression before achieving CR during induction therapy in 4 cases, and relapse after achieving CR in 6 cases. The relapse rates were 19.0% (4/21 pts) in the CCCG-97 group and 8.3% (2/24 pts) in the BFM-90 group, with a non-significant statistical difference (P=0.292). Major toxicities were myelosuppression and mucositis, especially in the BFM-90 group, but were tolerable and manageable. five patients in the BFM-90 group received rituximab, 2 patients (Stage III) achieved CR, while the other 3 patients (Stage IV) had progressive disease or relapse.


CONCLUSIONS
Short-pulse and intensive chemotherapy, stratified according to stage of disease, can improve the survival rate of pediatric mature B-NHL. The efficacy of the CCCG-97 protocol and BFM-90 protocol is comparable and the toxicity is tolerable.
Hematology/Oncology Department of Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 201102, China.
Jian-hua
JH
Meng
Yi-jin
YJ
Gao
Feng-juan
FJ
Lu
Xiao-wen
XW
Zhai
Hong-sheng
HS
Wang
Jun
J
Li
D000293:Adolescent; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D052016:Mucositis / Q000139:chemically induced; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000069283:Rituximab; D015996:Survival Rate
D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab