[Prognostic changes in juvenile abdominal non-Hodgkin's lympomas (NHL)]

From 1964-1978 primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed and treated in 15 children (13 boys and 2 girls). In the 10 patients treated up to 1974, median survival was only 4 months (the longest being 16 months). Since 1974 all such patients have been put on high-dose combined chemotherapy as early as possible. Of 5 children thus treated, 3 have survived for 60, 26 and 11 months respectively and are still alive disease-free. The other two died after 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 months respectively: both had very widespread disease at diagnosis and chemotherapy was delayed by postoperative complications. The 4 most recent tumors have been classified immunologically: 3 were of the B-cell type and exhibited the classic "Burkitt-type" morphology. Two of these patients are alive and well. Although so small a patient material allows no firm conclusions, the authors feel that early intensive chemotherapy may be curative even in this poor-prognosis group of intraabdominal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.