Clinical analysis of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (1965-1985)

Clinical and histopathological data of 307 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) was reviewed applying the Kiel histopathologic classification scheme and the Ann Arbor clinical and pathologic staging system. The first group included 74 patients who were diagnosed as having lympho- and reticulosarcomas during the 1965-1974 period. The case histories and histological diagnoses of these patients were retrospectively reevaluated. These patients were given orthovoltic irradiation and single agent chemotherapy. The second group included 233 patients who were entered into a prospective study from 1975 onwards. These patients were given combined polychemotherapeutical regimes. The comparative investigation has shown that the proportion of the low and high grade NHLs were the same in the groups. The administration of the new chemotherapeutical regimes did not influence significantly the survival of NHL patients.