[Prognostic factors of follicular lymphoma treated with combination chemotherapy]

This study investigated 72 patients (12.4%) with follicular lymphoma among 582 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma admitted to our department. Treatment achieved complete remission (CR) in 83.3% of the follicular lymphoma patients, with an overall 5-year survival rate of 63.7%. The 5-year survival rate was 76.9% for the 60 patients who achieved CR, and this rate was significantly higher than that for patients who achieved only partial remission (PR) (p < 0.01). The 5-year survival rate was 40% with the CHOP regimen and 74.3% with the COP-BLAM regimen. The 3-year survival rate for biweekly COP-BLAM was 88.4%. The 5-year disease free survival rate for patients who achieved CR was 80.5%. The rate reached a plateau after 42 months, and the same survival was maintained for more than 10 years. These results suggest that intensive chemotherapy is effective even against follicular lymphoma. The 5-year survival rate for patients who achieved PR, suggesting the importance of the response to initial chemotherapy.