Background: The treatment strategy for stage I non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) is far from being clearly established.
Methods: Thirty-seven patients (pts) with clinical stage I high-grade NHL treated between 1983 and 1989 have been retrospectively reviewed. Nineteen pts were treated by radiotherapy (RT) alone; 14 pts received chemotherapy (CT) followed by adjuvant RT, 3 pts CT alone and 1 pt underwent surgery alone. All pts with bulky disease were submitted to combined therapy.
Results: Estimated 7-yr overall survival (OS) was 82%, while freedom from relapse (FFR) was 73%. No differences in OS and FFR were recorded with regard to the type of treatment, site of the tumor, sex or histology.
Conclusions: Our conclusion is that stage I NHL, even with unfavourable histology, may be successfully treated with RT only; however, CT before RT may be recommended in pts with a higher risk of relapse, i.e. the presence of bulky mass.