| Abstract: | From 1975 through 1985 88 patients with a primary manifestation of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the upper digestive and respiratory tract were referred to our hospital. Fifty-seven of them were in Stage I or II. The results of therapy in 48 evaluable patients are the subject of this retrospective study. Low, intermediate, and high grade malignant histologic features were encountered in 6, 27, and 15, respectively. The authors compared retrospectively the patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) with those who received additionally chemotherapy (RT + CT). Patients have been followed for a minimum of 1 year. Four of 29 patients with intermediate-grade or high-grade malignant lymphoma treated with CT and RT relapsed whereas eight of 13 patients treated with RT alone relapsed. Actuarial survival curves differed significantly in favour of the CT and RT group. These figures were also significant when the high-grade lymphomas plus centroblastic lymphomas were considered. It is recommended to add CT to RT in both Stage I and II NHL of high-grade and intermediate-grade malignancy. |
