New research from the International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group (ILROG) has reported that patients with stage I-II follicular lymphoma (FL) who are treated with curative radiotherapy and experience subsequent relapse have an excellent prognosis.
The finding follows previous research by the group which reported that approximately 30% of patients with localised FL staged by 18F-FDG-PET-CT(PET-CT) receiving primary radiotherapy will relapse within 5 years. This latest study report outcomes for those who relapsed.
Of 512 patients with median follow-up of 52 months, 149 (29.1%) developed recurrent lymphoma at a median of 23 months after primary RT. Histology at relapse included 93 indolent (grade 1-3A), three FL grade 3B/NOS, and 18 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Thirty-five patients were not biopsied.
Three-year overall survival (OS) was 91.4% after recurrence. However, OS was significantly worse for those with relapse within 12 months from the date of diagnosis (88.7%).
For patients with indolent recurrences, three-year freedom from progression (FFP) or freedom from treatment was 56.6% (median 48 months). For all patients with biopsied/presumed indolent recurrence receiving salvage treatment, three-year FFP was 73.9%
The authors say the results support the role of primary radiotherapy in the management of early stage disease.
