Primary extranodal lymphomas of Waldeyer's ring, stage IE and IIE

We reviewed 45 cases of Waldeyer's ring lymphomas (25 stage IE, 20 IIE): 73% had high-grade histology according to Kiel's classification. Fourteen patients received radiotherapy alone and 31 chemotherapy, combined with radiotherapy in 28. Complete remission rate was 95% and relapse rate 32%. At 8 years overall disease-related survival (DRS) and event-free survival (EFS) were 69% and 57% respectively. Combined treatment provided both significantly better DRS (82% vs 42%) and EFS (76% vs 25%) than radiotherapy alone. Most of the patients with high-grade histology (26/33) received the combined treatment and this subgroup achieved a long-term EFS of 78%. Both DRS and EFS were also significantly longer in patients under 60. At multivariate analysis favorable prognostic factors were lower age for DRS and combined treatment for EFS.