Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcome of Pediatric Patients with Burkitt Lymphoma / 대한소아혈액종양학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Burkitt lymphoma (BL) occurs mainly in pediatric populations. Data on the clinical characteristics and treatment results are scarce in Korea. We report our single center experience on BL in children to improve the treatment efficacy while minimizing treatment-related toxicities. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective analysis of 15 patients diagnosed as BL or Burkitt leukemia-lymphoma (BLL) between Aug., 1995 and Feb., 2002. Several induction chemotherapy regimens were used including CCG 106B (prednisolone, cyclophosphamide, daunorubicin, vincristine, L-asparaginase; N=10). Post-induction regimens consisted of CCG 106B (N=12), high dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (N=1), and others (N= 2). RESULTS: The incidence of BL and BLL was 27.2% of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed at our institution. Abdominal mass was the most common presentation (80%) and many patients had advanced stage diseases. Six patients suffered from tumor lysis syndrome, all of whom eventually improved. None died from infection or bleeding. All patients are alive disease-free for median 20 months (range 2~26 months) of follow-up duration except for one who is alive with a residual liver mass. CONCLUSION: Though recent therapeutic trials of repeated intensified chemotherapy including high dose cytarabine and methotrexate led to improvement of survival in patients with BL, many patients suffers from therapy-related toxicities. We successfully treated pediatric BL patients with tolerable toxicities using CCG 106B regimen which is known to be highly effective in high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia. More experiences are needed to establish the optimal duration of therapy.