Patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) benefit from prolonged event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) when treated with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) and total body irradiation, according to a report published in Radiation and Oncology (March 1, 2017;51[1]:81-87).
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MCL and follicular lymphoma are resistant to standard chemotherapy and successful treatment options are limited. However, high-dose treatment with ASCT has demonstrated impact in prolonging disease-free and OS in some patients.
Barbara Jezersek Novakovic, department of medical oncology, Institute of Oncology (Ljubljana, Slovenia), and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the EFS and OS in patients with MCL or follicular lymphoma after ASCT. Researchers sampled 29 patients with MCL and 17 patients with follicular lymphoma who underwent ASCT after high-dose cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation between 2006 and 2014. OS was measured from treatment initiation to death from any cause. EFS was measured from treatment initiation to disease progression or death from any cause.
Results of the analysis showed an estimated 5-year OS of 79.3% (95% CI, 56.1%-91.1%) for patients in the MCL cohort and 87.8% (95% CI, 59.5%-96.8%) for patients in the follicular lymphoma cohort. The estimated 5-year EFS was 69.8% (95% CI, 45.5%-84.8%) and 76.0% (95% CI, 48.0%-90.3%), respectively.
Additionally, there were no secondary hematological malignancies observed in either cohort.
Researchers concluded that with the low relapse rates and low risk of late toxicities or secondary malignancies, ASCT represents a reliable option for long-term treatment of patients with MCL or follicular lymphoma. Further research is necessary to validate the findings of this study. – Zachary Bessette
