title: Treatment of children with advanced-stage lymphoblastic lymphoma with pegaspargase.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the feasibility of Pegaspargase instead of L-asparaginase to treat children with advanced-stage lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) on the Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM)-95 protocol.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-four newly diagnosed patients with stage III or IV LBL and without any treatment were enrolled in this study. Pegaspargase took place of L-asparaginase in BFM-95. The complications and treatment responses of patients treated on the BFM-95 protocol and modified BFM-95 protocol were then evaluated respectively. Findings : For LBL patients treated with BFM-95 protocol or modified BFM-95 protocol, the complete response, event-free survival, overall survival were similar. Stage 4 myelosuppression was the most common complication in both groups. Besides that, among 31 patients receiving modified BFM-95 protocol, coagulation defects were the most common complication. In contrast, anaphylactic reaction was the most common complication in the other 23 patients receiving BFM-95 protocol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Modified BFM-95 protocol is available to children with advanced-stage LBL with an equal outcome and enhances its compliance and decreases the incidence of anaphylactic reaction, compared to BFM-95 protocol. Coagulation defects are the major complication and tolerable in modified one.
authors: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
authors: Zhang
authors: Z
authors: Yu-Tong
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
authors: Feng
authors: F
authors: Li-Hua
authors: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
authors: Zhong
authors: Z
authors: Xiao-Dan
authors: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
authors: Wang
authors: W
authors: Li-Zhe
authors: Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
authors: Chang
authors: C
authors: Jian
keywords: Chemotherapy; L-Asparaginase; Lymphoblastic Lymphoma; Pegaspargase