Abstract
From June 1976 to May 1980, 25 previously untreated children with non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were studied and treated with a protocol modified from the one (LSA~2~L~2~) proposed by Wollner [8]. Stage III and IV had, in addition, prophylactic treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) with cranial irradiation (2,400 rad plus intrathecal metho‐trexate). The complete remission rate is 96%. Of these patients, 76% are disease free surviving after a median observation time of nearly two years. The disease‐free actuarial survival is 100% for 6 children with Stage I‐II disease and 68% for 19 Stage III‐IV children after median observation times respectively of 25 + and 19 + months. None of the 19 high‐risk patients developed CNS disease after prophylactic treatment.
Mediastinal involvement and leukemic conversion at diagnosis were not unfavorable prognostic factors, but primary skeletal or subcutaneous disease and Burkitt‐type histology were ominous features in patients treated by this regimen.
It is concluded that good results are obtained when an aggressive multimodal and multiple drug regimen like the LSA~2~‐L~2~ is coupled with CNS prophylaxis and is used assiduously to maintain complete remission during the first 12 months of treatment.