THE OUTCOME OF GREATER-THAN-OR-EQUAL-TO-70-YEAR-OLD NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA PATIENTS

Purpose: The outcome of treatment of 98 over 70-year-old patients with nonHodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is presented, Methods and Materials: Analysis of treatment outcome of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients age 70 years and more was carried thorugh with special emphasis on fatal complications occurring during treatment, Study patients mainly represented intermediate or high degree of malignancy, Results: Complete response rate (CR) was 54% after combination chemotherapy, 22% after single agent chemotherapy, and 56% after radiotherapy (used for local disease), The overall 5-year survival was 38% for all patients and 57% for CR patients, Stage had a significant effect on both the complete response rate and survival, Survival was also significantly influenced by the malignancy grade, Fifteen patients (15%) died during treatment, many of them had another predisposing disease and markers of poor prognosis, Conclusion: The evaluation of individual prognostic features of each old patient should be completed prior to treatment planning.