Refractory or Relapsed Hodgkin??s Disease and Non-Hodgkin??s Lymphoma

Response to hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy in chemotherapy-refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Patients with chemotherapy-refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have a poor prognosis with a median overall survival (OS) of only 10 months. To investigate the role of radiotherapy (RT) in such patients, we conducted a retrospective review of 17 patients with biopsy-proven refractory NHL who received hyperfractionated accelerated RT between 2000 and 2017. Forty-seven percent had stages I and II and 53% had stages III and IV disease. Majority (59%) had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. One-year local control rate was 82%. Fifty-nine percent proceeded to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). At a median follow-up time of 8.8 months (range: 13 days to 17.4 years), 10 were alive with five in remission. Six patients were long-term survivors with a median OS of 8.1 years. Hyperfractionated accelerated RT in chemotherapy-refractory NHL provides durable local disease control in the majority of cases. Combined with HSCT, the RT regimen may also provide long-term disease remission in a subset of patients.

Role of Consolidative Radiation Therapy After Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Purpose

To evaluate the role of the addition of consolidative radiation therapy after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Methods and Materials

Medical records were reviewed from a total of 80 consecutive patients who underwent high-dose chemotherapy with AHCT treated under a single protocol at University of Minnesota between November 2005 and January 2014. Of these, 32 patients received radiation therapy after AHCT as planned consolidation.

Results

At a median follow-up of 25 months, the 2-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) for the entire cohort was 96% and 52%, respectively. Consolidative radiation therapy was found to significantly improve the 2-year PFS (67% vs 42%, P<.01) without a significant change in OS (100% vs 93%, P=.15). On subgroup analysis, consolidative radiation therapy was shown to improve PFS in patients with bulky disease (62% vs 39%, P=.02), B-symptoms (48% vs 28%, P=.05), primary refractory disease (47% vs 32%, P=.02), and those with a partial response on pretransplant imaging (47% vs 32%, P=.02). The improvement seen on 2-year PFS with consolidative radiation therapy remained significant on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 4.64, 95% confidence interval 1.98–10.88). Minimal toxicity was observed among the patients receiving radiation therapy.

Conclusions

The addition of consolidative radiation therapy after high-dose chemo-therapy and AHCT demonstrated a significant improvement in 2-year PFS and no impact on OS. Radiation therapy was well tolerated, with minimal toxicity. Our study supports a role of consolidative radiation therapy in patients with HL treated with AHCT.

Involved field radiation therapy following high dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant benefits local control and survival in refractory or recurrent Hodgkin lymphoma

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Patients with recurrent or primary refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treated with high dose chemotherapy (HDT) and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) commonly relapse post-ASCT in previous disease sites. We sought to evaluate involved field radiation therapy (IFRT) following ASCT and patterns of recurrence, overall survival (OS), and disease specific survival (DSS).

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Between May 1993 and October 2003, 62 (n=66) evaluable patients with refractory/relapsed HL underwent HDT followed by ASCT. Thirty-two (52%) patients received IFRT following transplant. Survival was calculated from the day of hematopoietic stem cell infusion.

RESULTS

Median follow-up was 2.3 years (range 0.03-11.56). Estimated 3-year OS (p=0.05) and DSS (p=0.08) were 69.6% and 82.1% with IFRT and 40% and 57.6% without IFRT on univariate analysis. B-symptoms were adverse on univariate (p=0.007) and multivariate (p=0.01) analysis. HL patients who received IFRT following ASCT had improved local control in areas of previously recurrent disease (p=0.03).

CONCLUSION

OS and DSS showed marginal benefit at 3 years. Given the retrospective nature of our study and attendant selection bias that can be both positive and negative, a future prospective study is warranted to better understand the value of IFRT in the transplant setting.

The role of FDG-PET imaging and involved field radiotherapy in relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

We examined the role of fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and the addition of involved field radiotherapy (IFRT) as potential modifiers of salvage therapy. From January 2000 to June 2007, 83 patients with chemosensitive relapsed or primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) underwent FDG-PET scans following second-line chemotherapy before high-dose therapy with autologous stem cell rescue (HDT/ASCR). We evaluated the prognostic value of having a negative FDG-PET scan before HDT/ASCR and whether IFRT improved the outcomes. Median follow-up was 45 months, and the 3-year PFS, disease-specific survival (DSS) and OS were 72, 80 and 78%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that a positive FDG-PET scan had worse PFS (hazard ratio=(HR) 3.4; P=0.014), DSS (HR=7.7; P=0.001) and OS (HR=5.4; P=0.001), and that patients not receiving IFRT had worse PFS (HR=2.7; P=0.03) and DSS (HR=2.8, P=0.059). Patients who received IFRT had better local control with fewer relapses within prior involved sites compared with those that did not receive IFRT (P=0.006). These outcomes confirm the important prognostic value of FDG-PET scans before undergoing HDT/ASCR. It also suggests that the role of IFRT should be evaluated further.

Involved-Field Radiotherapy Before High-Dose Therapy and Autologous Stem-Cell Rescue in Diffuse Large-Cell Lymphoma: Long-Term Disease Control and Toxicity

Purpose

To analyze outcome, prognostic factors, and toxicities in patients with diffuse large-cell lymphoma (DLCL) who received involved-field radiotherapy (IFRT) before high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell rescue (ASCR).

Patients and Methods

Between January 1990 and August 2006, 164 patients with relapsed or refractory DLCL received IFRT at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) before high-dose chemotherapy and ASCR. IFRT was delivered to involved sites measuring more than 5 cm or to sites with residual disease more than 2 cm. Radiotherapy was administered in 1.5-Gy fractions twice daily to a total dose of 30 Gy. Progression-free survival and overall survival were calculated, and short- and long-term toxicity was assessed according to National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (version 2.0). Median follow-up was 60 months (range, 2 to 187 months).

Results

Two- and 5-year progression-free survival was 62% and 53%; 2- and 5-year overall survival was 67% and 58%, respectively. Sixty-seven patients relapsed; only 10 patients relapsed completely within the radiotherapy field. There were seven early treatment-related mortalities and 11 secondary cancers (including four myelodysplastic syndromes), one of which occurred within the IFRT site and five after total-body irradiation.

Conclusion

Minimal treatment-related mortality and morbidity resulted from short, intensive, involved-field radiotherapy before high-dose chemotherapy and ASCR, which was incorporated into a salvage regimen for patients with relapsed/refractory DLCL. This chemoradiotherapy salvage regimen resulted in a low local relapse rate that could potentially translate into an improved total outcome.