Clinical Trials in Older Patients With Intermediate and High-Grade Lymphomas

The number of studies concerning non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in elderly patients has increased in the last few years. However, the effectiveness of treatments specifically devised for elderly patients with aggressive lymphoma must be determined despite a trend towards reduction of treatment-related death. Direct comparison of trial results is difficult since different age limits were set for the inclusion of patients on study, but we can confirm that the complete response rate decreases with increasing age. Comparison of results even among trials conducted on patients of the same age remains difficult due to the lack of homogeneity in prognostic factors related to the NHL as well as to associated comorbidity, mental status, physical activity and family and social status.