New Hope for Some Lymphoma Patients

High-Dose Total Body Radiotherapy with Stem Cell Transplantation Is Effective Treatment for Some Patients with Chemo-Resistant Lymphoma

Contact:Katherine Egan Bennett703-227-0156[email protected]www.astro.org

May 1, 2002, Fairfax, Va. -- High-dose radiotherapy combined with a stem cell transplant is an effective and potentially curative therapy for select chemo-resistant lymphoma patients, according to a new study published in the May 2002 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics.

In the study, researchers sought to evaluate the feasibility of dose escalation in total body irradiation (TBI) above the previously reported maximum tolerated dose by conducting a phase I-II trial of dose-escalated TBI with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for chemotherapy-refractory lymphoma.

In the trial, nine patients with Hodgkin's or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with primary refractory disease or in resistant relapse received a stem cell transplant and dose-escalated radiation therapy to their entire body. The three dose levels of dose-escalated TBI were 1,600 cGy, 1,800 cGy, and 2,000 cGy. Lung blocks were used to reduce the TBI transmission dose by 50 percent and the chest wall dose was supplemented to the prescribed dose, using electrons. The kidneys were also shielded to keep the maximal renal dose at 1,600 cGy.

Although toxicities were associated with this high dose of radiation on the patients, six (66 percent) of the patients achieved some type of remission. Four (44 percent) of the patients achieved complete remission, three of which lasted more than one year, while two of the patients (22 percent) achieved partial remission. One of those patients remains disease free more than 5 years after the stem cell transplant. However, another patient died 429 days after the transplant from corticosteroid-induced gastritis and a postoperative infection.

"High-dose radiotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation is an effective and potentially curative therapy for selected patients with chemo-resistant Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," said Simon N. Powell, M.D., Ph.D., a member of the department of radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a lead author in the study.

To arrange an interview with a lead author of the study, Simon N. Powell, M.D., Ph.D., please contact him at the Massachusetts General Hospital at (617) 726-8146 or e-mail Dr. Powell at [email protected]. For more information or to obtain a copy of the study, please call Katherine Bennett at (703) 227-0156 or e-mail her at [email protected].

The International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, and Physics is the official journal of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. ASTRO is the largest radiation oncology society in the world, with 7,000 members who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As a leading organization in radiation oncology, biology, and physics, the society's goals are to advance the scientific base of radiation therapy and to extend the benefits of radiation therapy to those with cancer and other diseases.

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