Team approach to management of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: past and present

A detailed review of our results of radiotherapy for stage I and II non-Hodgkin's lymphomas has been presented as background for our current multidisciplinary approach which uses multiple-agent chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy for nodular and diffuse stage I, II, and III lymphomas of the poorly differnetiated lymphocytic, mixed, and histiocytic varieties. Optimum management is based on coordinated efforts of medicine, radiotherapy, pathology, diagnostic radiology, and surgery. In stage I, II, and III disease, routine staging procedures include lymphangiography, bilateral iliac crest needle biopsies of the bone marrow, and percutaneous needle biopsies of the liver. Staging laparotomy is considered essential to our present program for stage I, IE, II and IIE disease. In our opinion, staging laparotomy is not indicated in stage II or IIIE disease. Although very preliminary, results for these programs are encouraging. This paper presents the concept of team management and a specific plan for its implementation.