Long-term outcomes of patients treated with an EPOCHL regimen as first-line chemotherapy for newly diagnosed extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma: a retrospective single-center study

We retrospectively evaluated the long-term outcomes of patients receiving an EPOCHL (EPOCH + L-asparaginase) regimen as first-line chemotherapy for newly diagnosed extranodal natural killer/T cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTL). Ninety-six patients received 2-8 cycles of EPOCHL. After 2-4 cycles, 55.2% patients had complete response (CR) and 39.6% had partial response (PR). 42.7% patients developed progressive or relapsed disease. The 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 56.1% overall, 59.8% for stage I/II, and 34.9% for stage III/IV disease, and corresponding 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 58.7, 65.3, and 39.8%, respectively. OS differed significantly between patients with stage I/II and those with stage III/IV disease (p = 0.018). Patients who achieved CR had better 3-year OS of 92.9%. Advanced stage disease was a poor prognostic factor for OS. All major adverse events associated with the EPOCHL regimen were reversible, and this first-line chemotherapy was safe and effective for patients with ENKTL.