Long-term remission in diffuse histiocytic lymphoma treated with combination sequential chemotherapy

Seventeen patients with Stage III or IV reticulum cell sarcoma were treated with three cycles of a 5-drug regimen between February, 1969 and December, 1970. Of the 17 patients, 9 attained a complete remission and 6 had a parital remission; 2 were considered unevaluable. Recently, the original biopsies from these patients were reclassified according to the criteria of rappaport et al. The results were: diffuse histiocytic--8; nodular histiocytic--2; diffuse mixed--2; nodular mixed--3; diffuse lymphocytic poorly differentiated--1; nodular lymphocytic poorly differentiated--1. Of the 8 patients with diffuse histiocytic lymphoma 6 attained complete remission, 1 had a partial remission, and 1 was unevaluable. One of the 6 with complete remission relapsed at 7 months and died 2 months later. However, the other 5 are alive and in continued unmaintained remission for 55 to 65 months.