[Chemotherapy of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas]

Guidelines for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are laid down in this paper. Low-grade lymphomas diagnosed at an early stage be cured by adequate extended field radiotherapy, although this is a rare occurrence. Advanced stages are treated only on progression of the disease, whereby these measures can merely be regarded as palliative. Lymphomas of high-grade malignancy should be treated by massive chemotherapy from the very beginning, with additional supportive therapy for any complications which may arise, as necessary. After full remission has been achieved by means of chemotherapy, radiotherapy is applied to the previously worst-affected areas. This strategy aims at cure, as in the case of the acute leukaemias, although it is only very rarely successful. It is becoming increasingly possible to achieve remissions through applying various chemotherapeutic regimens, but the question of optimum maintenance therapy, both with regard to type and duration is still unsettled and urgently requires elucidation.