The impact of histologic grade on the outcome of high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation for follicular lymphoma

Bone Marrow Transplant. 2007 Dec;40(11):1039-44. doi: 10.1038/sj.bmt.1705864. Epub 2007 Oct 8.

Abstract

The impact of the follicular lymphoma (FL) histologic grade on outcomes after high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is unknown. We evaluated 219 consecutive patients with grades 1-3 FL who underwent HDT and ASCT at our center. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), relapse and non-relapse mortality (NRM) was estimated for each grade after controlling for other predictive factors. The number of patients with grades 1, 2 and 3 FL was 106 (48%), 75 (34%) and 38 (17%), respectively. Five-year outcome estimates for the entire cohort included 60% OS, 39% PFS and 46% relapse (median follow-up=7.8 years). PFS and relapse were nearly identical among patients with grade 3 FL versus grades 1-2 FL after adjusting for other contributing factors (hazard ratio (HR)=0.90, P=0.68; HR=1.07, P=0.80, respectively). The hazard for mortality (HR=0.70, P=0.23) and NRM (HR=0.33, P=0.07) was non-significantly lower among patients with grade 3 FL compared to patients with grades 1-2 disease. Factors associated with inferior PFS included elevated lactate dehydrogenase (HR=1.52, P=0.03), chemoresistance (HR=1.82, P=0.02), > or =2 prior therapies (HR=1.8, P=0.03) and prior radiation (HR=1.99, P=0.003). These data suggest that the histologic grade of FL does not impact PFS or relapse following HDT and ASCT.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Disease Progression
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Female
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation*
  • Humans
  • Kaplan-Meier Estimate
  • Lymphoma, Follicular / drug therapy*
  • Lymphoma, Follicular / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Prognosis
  • Radiotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Transplantation Conditioning
  • Transplantation, Autologous

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents