Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the elderly: 1. Pathologic features at presentation

Article Abstract:

The pathologic features of 118 patients aged 70 years and older with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphoid system, were assessed. These patients accounted for 27.2 percent of 433 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma seen over a five-year period. In 31 of 433 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the disease was not classified by tissue microscopic examination. The remaining 402 cases were classified according to the International Working Formulation of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Twenty-eight of 112 cases that were analyzed by immunological tests involved elderly patients. Ninety-five cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in elderly patients were classified by tissue microscopic examination and included 28 patients with low-grade disease, 41 patients with intermediate-grade disease, and 26 patients with high-grade disease. The cancer was of the diffuse, or widespread, type in 81 cases and follicular/nodular type in 14 cases. In addition, 35 cases were classified into diffuse large cell and large cell immunoblastic categories. Younger patients and patients older than 70 years did not differ in the prevalence of various subtypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Sixty-two cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the elderly developed outside of the lymph nodes. These findings show that the elderly account for a large proportion of patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The pathologic features of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are similar in both younger and elderly patients, although the diffuse form is more prevalent than the follicular form in elderly patients. In addition, the disease tends to develop outside of the lymph nodes in elderly patients, rather than within the nodes. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Demographic aspects, Identification and classification, Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, Lymphomas

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Two cycles of cisplatin-vindesine and radiotherapy for localized non-small cell carcinoma of the lung (Stage III)

Article Abstract:

Non-small cell lung cancer that is localized in the chest but is not operable is usually treated with radiotherapy. The two-year survival is roughly 15 percent. In 80 percent of the cases, death is due to metastatic spread. In order to decrease the spread of the cancer, a combination treatment of vindesine-cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy was devised. Two monthly cycles of chemotherapy were given consisting of 100 milligrams per meter squared of cisplatin on the first day, and 2.5 milligrams per meter squared of vindesine on days 1, 8, and 15. Following chemotherapy, 6,000 cGy radiation was given to the chest (a Gy, or Gary, is 1 joule of energy absorbed per kilogram of tissue). One hundred forty-nine patients were treated in this manner; those with complete, partial, or a minor response after chemotherapy were randomized into groups receiving either the radiotherapy alone or maintenance chemotherapy after the radiation. The two-year survival was identical for those receiving maintenance chemotherapy and those not. The main determinant of survival was the presence of an initial complete response. Of those achieving a complete response, 75 percent survived at least two years, in contrast to the 9 percent with a minor response who survived. The overall two-year survival rate was 14 percent. Future efforts should be directed at improving the percentage of patients achieving a complete response upon first chemotherapy rather than on maintenance chemotherapy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Cisplatin, Vindesine

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Combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy versus radiotherapy alone in locally advanced epidermoid bronchogenic carcinoma: a randomized study

Article Abstract:

The value of combining radiotherapy and chemotherapy for the treatment of lung cancers of the non-small-cell type remains uncertain; the standard therapy has been radiation treatments alone. In order to evaluate one regimen for treating inoperable epidermoid bronchogenic carcinoma (EBC), 111 patients entered a randomized trial comparing radiation and chemotherapy with radiation alone. Forty-nine patients received 4500 rad of radiation over 15 doses in addition to cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), methotrexate, and procarbazine. The remaining 62 patients received radiotherapy alone. Over a 60-month period, there were no significant differences in outcome between the two groups. Median survival time was 11.74 months for radiation only and 10.03 months for radiation and chemotherapy, but these figures were not significantly different. Although other chemotherapeutic regimens might offer a useful adjunct to radiotherapy for EBC, the combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy regimen studied here provided no advantage over radiotherapy alone. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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