CURATIVE RADIOTHERAPY FOR LOCALIZED DIFFUSE HISTIOCYTIC LYMPHOMA

Abstract

Newly diagnosed patients (10), with localized diffuse histiocytic lymphoma classified according to the Lukes-Collins classification, were evaluated for response to treatment with extended-field radiation. All classified tumors were of follicular center cell type (4 large cleaved, 4 large noncleaved and 1 small noncleaved). There were 9 patients with stage I disease and 1 with stage II disease. The patient with stage II disease had only 2 sites of involvement. The disease was nodal in 6 patients and extranodal in 4. All patients are alive without evidence of disease recurrence at 19-102 mo. since diagnosis (median survival, 58 .+-. mo.). No differences were found in response or survival rates between histologic categories. No significant immediate or long-term complications have occurred. Radiotherapy alone is apparently curative for very localized diffuse histiocytic lymphoma and may be superior to recently advocated chemotherapeutic approaches.