Difference in prognosis between T- and B-cell lymphomas: clinical study at Shikoku Cancer Center Hospital

In order to determine whether the surface marker phenotypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas affect the prognosis, we have studied the differences in response rate and duration of survival between T- and B-cell lymphomas. Sixty-four patients who underwent first-line therapy, including combination chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, from February 1979 to August 1985 were evaluated. With the aid of standard immunological methods and monoclonal antibodies related to T-cells and B-cells, 21 T-cell lymphomas and 21 B-cell lymphomas were identified. In the other 22 cases phenotypes were not determined mainly because of the inability to obtain fresh samples. The complete remission rate was 100% for B-cell lymphomas and 52.3% for T-cell lymphomas. The median survival time for patients with lymphomas of Stage III and IV, excluding those with low-grade histology, was nine months for T-cell lymphomas and 17 months for B-cell lymphomas. T-cell lymphomas were found to have significantly poorer prognosis than B-cell lymphomas. One patient with B-cell lymphoma and six patients in an undetermined phenotype group, who were treated with combination chemotherapy, have been alive more than three years without relapse and these patients are considered potentially cured. Our results suggest that the surface marker phenotype study of lymphoma cells as well as histological subtyping is important in prognosis and that more effective therapy is needed to improve the prognosis of T-cell lymphomas.