Nitrosourea, etoposide and cyclophosphamide followed by autologous stem cell transplantation for pediatric lymphoma patients

Treatment outcomes in pediatric lymphoma have improved substantially over the past 2 decades; however, the prognosis for patients with high risk or relapsed disease remains poor. We evaluated outcomes of high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) in 56 pediatric lymphoma patients. Patients received nitrosourea (51 BCNU; 5 ACNU), etoposide, and cyclophosphamide (BEC; AEC). Median age at HDC/auto-SCT was 12 years (range 2–17 years). Forty-four patients underwent HDC/auto-SCT because they did not achieve complete remission after induction chemotherapy. Eight patients showed relapse and four NK/T-cell lymphoma patients also underwent HDC/auto-SCT. BCNU pneumonitis was diagnosed in nine (16.0%) patients. Eight (14.3%) relapsed after HDC/auto-SCT. Treatment-related mortality occurred in three cases. Five-year event-free survival and overall survival rates were 74.8% [72.7% non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL); 83.3% Hodgkin’s disease (HD); 72.7%] and 83.6% (81.6% NHL; 91.7% HD), respectively. HDC/auto-SCT with BEC or AEC regimen for pediatric high-risk lymphoma patients showed feasible outcomes. However, treatment modifications are warranted to reduce relapse and toxicity.