Stage I non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy

Seventy-six patients with stage I or IE intermediate-grade or immunoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were treated with a short course of doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy with (n-58) or without (n=18) involved field radiotherapy. Chemotherapy consisted of 3 or 4 cycles of M-BACOD or (bleo-)CHOP. Seventy-two (97%) of the 74 evaluable patients achieved a complete response. The 3-year overall survival was 89%, recurrence-free survival 94%, and lymphoma-specific survival 93%. Patients older than 60 years also had a 3-year lymphoma-specific survival rate of as high as 92%. The International Prognostic Index was associated with overall survival (p=0.04), but not with lymphoma-specific survival (p=0.18). We conclude that stages I and IE intermediate-grade or immunoblastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is highly curable if treated with short doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy and involved field radiotherapy. (orig.)