[Clinical outcomes in low grade follicular lymphoma]

Twenty-six patients with follicular small-cleaved lymphoma (FSCL) and 16 patients with follicular mixed lymphoma (FML) were treated at the Nichidai Itabashi Hospital between 1981 and 1995. The 5-year overall survival rate was 74.3% and 70.0% for the FSCL and FML patients, respectively. Of the patients with stage III-IV FSCL, 9 were assigned to a "watchful waiting" follow-up course and 13 were treated with a single alkylating agent or CHOP therapy. The 5-year failure-free survival rate was 66.7% and 33.0%, respectively. Of the patients with stage II-IV FML, 6 were treated with CHOP or MACOP-B protocol. The complete response rate for this group was only 33.3%, and none of the patients were in remission for more than 2 years. Histological transformation into diffuse aggressive lymphoma was observed in 7 patients, with the median time from diagnosis to transformation at 50 months. Three of those patients were successfully treated with intensive chemotherapy after transformation.