Favourable outcomes in children with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated by a short-term ALL-like regimen: A report on the NHL960 study from the Japanese Childhood Cancer and Leukemia Study Group

In the NHL960 non-LB study, we treated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) using a short-term ALL-like protocol. Thirty children up to 16 years of age with DLBCL were stratified into group 1 with stage I/II disease, or group 2 with stage III/IV disease. Their ages ranged from 9 months to 16 years of age, with a median of 9 years of age. The Murphy's stages were stage I in 7, stage II in 10, stage III in 6, and stage IV in 7 subjects. They received an ALL-like treatment without prophylactic cranial irradiation for 6 or 9 months. All children achieved a complete remission. Two patients with stage 3 disease experienced recurrences at 18 and 37 months after the start of chemotherapy. They responded to a short intensive regimen with Rituximab, followed by stem cell transplantation, and are alive without disease. The follow-up time ranged from 41 to 124 months with a median of 80 months. For all patients analyzed in this study, their overall survival and event-free survival (EFS) at 7-years was 100% and 93% +/- 4%, respectively. The 7-year EFS according to the treatment group was 100% for group 1, and 83% +/- 11% for group 2, respectively.