PURPOSE: MOPP/ABV hybrid regimen incorporates MOPP and ABVD into a single regimen on the tenets of the Goldie-Coldman hypothesis. This study was performed to determine the efficacy of COPP/ABV hybrid regimen, in which cyclophosphamide was substituted for mechlorethamine, in patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease were treated with cyclophosphamide(600 mg/m2 iv, Dl), vincristine(1.4 mg/m2 iv, D1), procarbazine(100 mg/m2/d po, D1-7), prednisolone(40 mg/m2/d po D1-14), doxorubicin(35 mg/m2 iv, D8), bleomycin(10 mg/m2 iv, D8) and vinblastine(6 mg/m2 iv, D8). The treatment was repeated every 4 weeks. RESULTS: Between Aug. 1989 and Aug. 1996, 28 patients were enrolled. The median age was 33 years. Twenty one(75%) were previously untreated, newly diagnosed patients and 7(25%) were those who had relapsed after previous radiotherapy(RT). The common histologic types were nodular sclerosis(46%) and mixed cellularity(36%). Twenty three (82%) patients achieved complete remission(CR), three(11%) with the assistance of involved-field RT. Only one patient was primary treatment failure. The median follow-up duration was 56 months. Of the 23 patients achieving CR, three(13%) relapsed. Five-year relapse-free survival was 84.4%. Eight patients died. Five-year overall survival rate was 66.6% and 5-year failure-free survival rate was 66.3%. The survival rate of those who had relapsed after previous RT was significantly lower than that of newly diagnosed patients(P=0.03). The hematologic toxicities were common, but nonhernatologic toxicities were uncommon. Five patients died of treatment-related pneumonia or sepsis. Among them, four were those who had relapsed after previous RT. CONCLUSION: COPP/ABV hybrid regimen could cure significant proportion of patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease but the treatment-related mortality was high, especially in those who had relapsed after previous RT. Another regimen should be considered for those who received previous RT.
Cyclophosphamide ; Drug Therapy* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hodgkin Disease* ; Humans ; Mechlorethamine ; Mortality ; Pneumonia ; Radiotherapy ; Sepsis ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Failure

PURPOSE: This retrospective study was conducted for comparison of survival outcomes and toxicities of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) based on the use of total body irradiation (TBI) as a part of the conditioning regimen in patients with mature T- and natural killer (NK)-cell lymphomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent ASCT in the upfront or salvage setting between January 2000 and December 2013 were analyzed. Patients were dichotomized according to the TBI group (n=38) and non-TBI group (n=60) based on the type of conditioning regimen for ASCT. RESULTS: Patients with responsive disease underwent upfront ASCT (TBI, n=16; non-TBI, n=29) whereas patients with refractory disease (TBI, n=9; non-TBI, n=12) or relapsed disease (TBI, n=13; non-TBI, n=19) underwent ASCT after salvage treatment. Hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities were manageable, and the median cumulative toxicity score according to Seattle criteria was estimated as 2 (range, 0 to 7) in both groups. No significant difference in 100-day mortality was observed between the TBI (13%, 5/38) and non-TBI (12%, 12/60) groups, and most deaths were related to disease progression. There was no difference in overall and progression-free survival; however, the TBI group showed a trend of better survival in upfront and salvage ASCT than the non-TBI group. However, patients with refractory disease showed the worst outcome regardless of the use of TBI. Patients who showed complete response before ASCT showed better progression-free survival than thosewho showed partial response. CONCLUSION: TBI could be used as an effective part of conditioning for ASCT in patients with mature T- and NK-cell lymphomas.
Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Salvage Therapy ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Stem Cells* ; T-Lymphocytes ; Whole-Body Irradiation*

PURPOSE: Children with Malignant lymphoma who is in the advanced stage at diagnosis or relapses during treatment have a poor prognosis. Recently, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for advanced stage or refractory/relapsed lymphoma performed frequently. However, the role for HSCT for children with malignant lymphoma is still controversial. In this study, we reviewed children with malignant lymphoma who received HSCT and analyzed the results. METHODS: Questionnaires were made and sent to a group of teaching hospitals, with a return of 37 questionnaires from 11 hospitals. 33 patients with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and 4 patients with Hodgkin disease (HD) who received HSCT from 1997 to 2004 in Korea were enrolled in this study. Disease state at diagnosis, relapses during treatment, disease state at HSCT, and survival record were analyzed. All Data were reviewed with the questionnaires from the 11 teaching hospitals. RESULTS: Four patients with HD received HSCT at the 2nd complete remission after relapse. Survival rate for HD was 100% and their follow up duration ranged from 0.2 to 6.2 years (median 2.4 years). The 2-year survival rate for NHL was 68.1+/-9.0% and their follow up duration ranged from 0.1 to 7.6 years (median 1.5 years). The 2-year survival rate in patients with advanced stage at diagnosis and in relapsed/refractory patients were 83.6+/-1.1% and 55.9+/-12.9%, respectively (P=0.12). The mortality asssociated with HSCT was only 1 case, and most of the transplantation related complications did not resulted in death. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that high dose chemotherapy followed by HSCT in children with malignant lymphoma is a safe procedure, which at the same time improves the results of standard treatment.
Child ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Hodgkin Disease ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Korea* ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies* ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of treatment, survival and prognostic factors in Chinese patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

METHODSA total of previously untreated 415 patients with histologically confirmed Hodgkin lymphoma admitted in the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from February 1999 to February 2011 were included in this study. Their short-term and long-term survivals, as well as prognostic factors were analyzed.

RESULTSFor the whole group, 371 cases (89.4%) had complete remission (CR), 33 cases (8.0%) had partial remission (PR) and 11 cases (2.7%) experienced disease progression. The CR rates for stage I, II, III and IV patients were 96.6% (56/58), 92.0% (219/238), 83.6% (51/61) and 77.6% (45/58), respectively (P < 0.001). The 5-year disease-free survival (DFS), progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 90.6%, 84.1% and 92.5%. The stage I-II patients were significantly better than stage III-IV patients in terms of 5-year DFS rate (94.5% vs. 79.2%, P < 0.001), 5-year PFS rate (91.2% vs. 66.4%, P < 0.001) and 5-year OS rate (97.0% vs. 81.5%, P < 0.001). For stage I-II patients, combined modality therapy was related to better DFS, PFS and OS as compared with radiotherapy alone, and was associated with a better PFS compared with chemotherapy alone. There was a trend that consolidative radiotherapy could improve the long-term survival for stage III-IV patients who achieved disease remission after chemotherapy. What's more, consolidative radiotherapy could significantly improve PFS for those stage II-IV patients who achieved PR after chemotherapy. Multivariate analysis showed that clinical stage and pathological type were independent prognostic factors for the 5-year DFS rate (both P < 0.05), and the stage, elevated serum β2-microglobulin and none-ABVD/BEACOP chemotherapy regimen were independent prognostic factors for 5-year PFS rate and 5-year overall survival rate (P < 0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONSPatients with HL treated in China have a good prognosis. Combined modality therapy is the preferred treatment for stage I-II patients. Consolidative radiotherapy is recommended to those of stage III-IV patients who experienced PR after chemotherapy. Stage, serum β2-microglobulin and first-line chemotherapy regimen significantly affect the prognosis for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Antineoplastic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Bleomycin ; China ; Combined Modality Therapy ; mortality ; Dacarbazine ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Hodgkin Disease ; mortality ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; mortality ; Remission Induction ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome ; Vinblastine ; beta 2-Microglobulin ; blood

Hodgkin's disease (HD) is a hematologic malignancy which shows common features regardless of race, but racial differences may be considered with certain clinical characteritcs. HD in Korea shows somewhat different characteristics when compared to cases in Western countries. We evaluated the clinical and histopathologic characteristics of HD, the outcomes of various chemotherapy regimens, and prognostic factors of HD in Korea. One hundred and five patients with initial histopathologic diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease were retrospectively reviewed 20 years after diagnosis at Yonsei University College of Medicine. Nodular sclerosis was the most common histopathogic subtype (41%) and mixed cellularity was nearly as common (40%). The overall complete remission rate (CR) was 87.6%. The disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rate were 79.2% and 84.8% at 5-years, 70% and 79.2% at 10- and 20-years. There were no significant differences in CR rate and DFS, but OS rates were significantly higher in m-BACOP and ABVD regimen. Univariate analysis revealed that age, B-symptom, ECOG scale, Ann Arbor stage, international prognostic index, and serum beta2-microglobulin level were significant prognostic factors for both DFS and OS. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age, B symptoms, and ECOG scale were significant prognostic factors for OS only. In conclusion, the survival rates of HD patients in our center were superior to those of previous reports in Korea and Western countries. Considering the higher OS rate and decreased incidence of side effects, the ABVD regimen may be recommended for the initial treatment of Hodgkin's disease.
Treatment Outcome ; Remission Induction ; Prognosis ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Korea ; Humans ; Hodgkin Disease/mortality/*therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Female ; Disease-Free Survival ; Child, Preschool ; Child ; Antineoplastic Agents/*pharmacology ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aged ; Adult ; Adolescent

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recently, large cohort studies regarding associations between autoimmune disease and lymphomas have been reported in a few Western countries. However, Asian data concerning autoimmune-related lymphomas are limited. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of patients with autoimmune disease-related non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a single center in Korea. METHODS: We analyzed the data from 11 patients with autoimmune-related NHL. Patients were categorized into two groups, those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those with non-RA-related NHL. Then patients were re-categorized into a group with methotrexate (MTX) usage and a MTX non-usage group. Histological subtype, MTX duration, autoimmune disease duration, treatment modalities, and other data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: Our study revealed that older RA patients have a greater likelihood of occurrence of NHL (p = 0.042). We confirmed that MTX duration and cumulative dose of MTX have no significant correlation with autoimmune disease and NHL (p = 0.073). In the management of autoimmune disease-related NHL, all patients were directly treated with systemic chemotherapy instead of employing a wait and watch approach. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in all autoimmune disease-related NHL were 100% and 87.5%, with no treatment-related mortality during the 2-year follow-up period of our study. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that patients with RA-NHL are characterized by older age at onset compared to those with non-RA-NHL. Also considering of OS and PFS, intensive treatment strategy instead of delayed watchful managements may be required for autoimmune disease-related NHL including of old age group.
Age of Onset ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Clinical Study* ; Cohort Studies ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Methotrexate ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies*

PURPOSE: High-dose chemotherapy (HDT) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) have been used for the treatment of clinically aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). However, the superiority of specific conditioning regimens has not yet been established. The present study evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of a conditioning regimen involving fractionated total body irradiation (TBI), and the use of Ara-C and melphalan (TAM) for clinically aggressive NHL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 2002 and December 2004, 31 patients with aggressive NHL received fractionated TBI with a dose of 12 Gy over 3 days, and were administered 9 g/m2 Ara-C and 100 mg/m2 melphalan followed by autologous peripheral blood stem Cell Transplantation at the Catholic Hematopoietic Stem cell transplantation Center Korea. Patients that responded to first line chemotherapy and achieved complete remission (CR), or were in a first sensitive relapse were defined as having less advanced disease, while the other patients were defined as having more advanced disease. RESULTS: Objective responses were obtained in 24 of 31 patients (77.4%), comprising complete remission in 19 patients (61.3%) and partial remission in 5 (16.1%) patients. The median follow-up time was 28 months (range 1~62 months). At 3 years, the overall survival and event-free survival (EFS) rates were 62.3% and 47.3%, respectively. Patients with less advanced disease and more advanced disease showed 3-year EFS rates of 73.3% and 22.5 %, respectively (p=0.006). Early (within the first 100 days) treatment-related mortality occurred in 3 (9.7%) patients. Of the 31 total patients, 15 (48.4%) developed grade 3 mucositis, 22 (70.9%) developed neutropenic fever, and two (6.5%) developed interstitial pneumonia syndrome >grade 3. CONCLUSION: The modified TAM conditioning regimen and ASCT appear to be a feasible treatment regimen for clinically aggressive NHL, particularly for patients with less advanced disease.
Cytarabine ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Melphalan ; Mortality ; Mucositis ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Recurrence ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Stem Cells* ; Whole-Body Irradiation

BACKGROUND: The ESHAP chemotherapy regimen, that is, the combination of the etoposide, methylprednisolone, high-dose cytarabine and cisplatin, has been shown to be active against relapsing or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in previous therapeutic trials. We attempted to determine whether ESHAP therapy would be effective and well-tolerated in Korean patients. METHODS: Twenty two patients with refractory or relapsed NHLs (all aggressive types) were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively evaluated the treatment response, the survival rate and the time to progression. RESULTS: Six patients (27.3%) attained complete remission and eight patients (36.4%) attained partial remission. The overall response rate was 63.6%. The median survival duration was 15.5 months (95% confidence interval; 10.7 to 20.3 months), and the median duration of the time to progression was 8.3 months (95% confidence interval; 0.3 to 16.3 months). Myelosuppression was the major toxicity, but severe neutropenia or thrombocytopenia was rare, and renal toxicity was also infrequent. CONCLUSIONS: ESHAP regimen is effective in Korean patients suffering with relapsed or refractory NHLs, but a more effective salvage modality is needed because of the short duration of remission and the insignificant impact on long-term survival.
Treatment Failure ; Survival Analysis ; *Salvage Therapy ; Prednisone ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*drug therapy/mortality ; Middle Aged ; Methylprednisolone/administration & dosage ; Male ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/*drug therapy/mortality/pathology ; Humans ; Female ; Etoposide/administration & dosage ; Disease Progression ; Cytarabine/administration & dosage ; Cisplatin/administration & dosage ; *Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage ; Aged ; Adult ; Adolescent

PURPOSE: High survival rate can be obtained in B-cell lymphoma (Burkitt's lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) and L3 acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with multiagent chemotherapy. Objectives of this study were to evaluate the treatment outcomes of B-cell lymphoma and L3 ALL diagnosed at the Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center. METHODS: The medical records of 32 children who were diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and L3 ALL from March 1992 to July 2004 at Asan Medical Center were reviewed retrospectively. The 5 year event free survival (EFS) according to the diagnosis, age, risk group and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 23 boys and 9 girls. Age ranged from 9 months to 14.4 years old with a median of 7.1 years. Fourteen patients had L3 ALL, 11 had Burkitt's lymphoma and 7 had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Five patients (15.6%) had CNS involvement and 5 with B-cell lymphoma (27.8%, 5/18) had BM involvement. All patients who received appropriate chemotherapy achieved a complete remission (CR), but 18.8% (6/32) relapsed. Among 6 relapsed patients, 5 achieved CR after reinduction chemotherapy. One who had no response to secondary chemotherapy and 2 with isolated CNS relapse died due to disease progression. The most common treatment-related toxicity was myelosuppression (87.5%) followed by neutropenic fever (81.3%). Median follow up is 25 months (3 months to 74 months). Four patients who achieved CR after proper induction therapy (4/32, 12.5%) died, 3 due to relapse and 1 due to toxicity-related complication (neutropenia and sepsis). The 5 year EFS for all patients was 77.5+/-7.5% and the 5 year overall survival was 84.6+/-7.3%. The 5 year EFS of B-cell lymphoma compared with that of L3, ALL was 94.4+/-5.4% versus 55.1+/-13.9% (P=0.012) and 5 year overall survival of relapsed patients was 50.0+/-13.9%. CNS disease at diagnosis, age, LDH had no significant influence on EFS. CONCLUSION: High survival rate of childhood B-cell lymphomas and L3 ALL was obtained with recent intensive multiagent chemotherapy and about 50% of relapsed patients were salvaged with reinduction. High incidence of the treatment-related toxicity such as myelosuppression, neutropenic fever and TLS was observed, but the treatment-related mortality was very low with recent supportive therapies. Survival rate was improved with prompt and appropriate management for the treatment-related toxicity of the intensive chemotherapy.
B-Lymphocytes* ; Burkitt Lymphoma ; Central Nervous System Diseases ; Child ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Diagnosis ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lymphoma, B-Cell* ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Oxidoreductases ; Pediatrics ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In Asia, the incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has increased in recent decades. Waldeyer's ring (WR) is the most common site of NHL involving the head and neck. In this study, the pathological distribution of WR-NHL and its clinical features were analyzed retrospectively. METHODS: From January 2000 through December 2010, we analyzed the medical records of 328 patients from nine Korean institutions who were diagnosed with WR-NHL. RESULTS: The study group comprised 197 male and 131 female patients with a median age of 58 years (range, 14 to 89). The rate of localized disease (stage I/II) was 64.9%, and that of low-risk disease (low/low-intermediate, as defined by the International Prognostic Index) was 76.8%. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL; 240 patients, 73.2%) was the most common pathologic subtype, followed by peripheral T-cell lymphoma (14 patients, 4.3%) and nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma (14 patients, 4.3%). WR-NHL occurred most frequently in the tonsils (199 patients, 60.6%). Extranodal involvement was greater with the T-cell subtype (20 patients, 42.5%) compared with the B-cell subtype (69 patients, 24.5%). Multivariate analyses showed that age > or = 62 years, T-cell subtype, and failure to achieve complete remission were significant risk factors for overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: DLBCL was found to have a higher incidence in Korea than those incidences reported by other WR-NHL studies. T-cell lymphoma occurred more frequently than did follicular lymphoma. T-cell subtype, age > or = 62 years, and complete remission failure after first-line treatment were significant poor prognostic factors for overall survival according to the multivariate analysis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Humans ; Incidence ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lymphoma, Extranodal NK-T-Cell/pathology ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Recurrence ; Remission Induction ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult