Treatment outcomes in aggressive Non-Hodgkin lymphoma with primary abdominal lymph nodes involvement

Abstract

Introduction. Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) are malignant tumors of lymphatic tissue. NHL can primarily develop in any tissue or organ. One of the primary involvements of NHL is the abdominal lymph nodes. Their frequency constitutes 7.6.Purpose.To evaluate aggressive NHL with primary abdominal lymph nodes involvement treatment results.Material and methods. Retrospective study. Treatment outcomes were studied in 37 patients with aggressive NHL with primary abdominal lymph nodes involvement, aged between 25 and 73 years old. Polychemotherapy (PChT) cycles were used for treatment: CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone) - in 24 patients and rituximab + CHOP (R-CHOP) - in 13 patients.Results. Complete remissions were obtained in 48.7% of cases. The rate of complete remissions was higher (69.2%) when PChT R-CHOP was administered, comparing to patients in whom PChT CHOP (37.5%) was used (table 1.). Progression-free survival (PFS) over 5 years was higher in patients who recieved PChT R-CHOP (75.6%). PFS in the same terms in cases when PChT CHOP was given was equal to 41.3%.Conclusions. Adding anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (rituximab) to the standard PChT CHOP regimen contributed significantly to the increase of complete remissions rate and progression-free survival.