Abstract
Abstract 2689
Burkitt lymphoma (BL) and B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma (BLL) are mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas with an aggressive clinical course. Whereas the advent of short, intensive, multi-agent chemoimmunotherapy regimens has significantly improved the outcomes for BL patients (pts), questions remain regarding the optimal therapy for BLL.
Patients and Methods: We analyzed 25 patients (pts), aged 20 to 73 (median: 51 years), treated at the University of Pennsylvania for either BL or BLL from 2005 to 2010. All pts had c- myc+ lymphoma, with a Ki-67>98% and a negative HIV test. In order to be classified as BLL, expression of bcl-6 was required. Bcl-2 expression was noticed in 7/14 (50%) of BLL cases. All patients had Stage III/IV disease. All but two pts had high-risk disease by IPI. All 10 pts with BL were treated with the R-HyperCVAD regimen. Of the 14 pts with BLL, 7 where treated with R-HyperCVAD and 7 with R-CHOP (+ intrathecal prophylaxis in five out of seven pts). No differences in IPI, PS or co-morbidities were noted between the three groups. Notably, patients treated with R-CHOP were slightly younger with median of 52 years vs. median age of 62 years for those with BLL, treated with R-HyperCVAD.
Overall response rate (ORR) to R-HyperCVAD in BL was 70%, with two treatment-related deaths. At median follow up of 24 months, progression-free survival (PFS) was 72% (95% CI: 36–90%). ORR in BLL treated with R-HyperCVAD was 86% with one treatment-related death vs.57% when treated with R-CHOP, with two treatment-related deaths. At median follow up of 9 months for both groups, PFS for BLL treated with R-HyperCVAD was 54% (95% CI: 14–83%), whereas only one pt treated with R-CHOP was free of disease after 9 months with a median PFS of 8 months and median overall survival (OS) of 9 months. Within our data set, only one of the six pts with primary refractory disease and one of four relapses responded to salvage therapy. None of the BL/BLL pts treated with R-HyperCVAD, who achieved a CR, relapsed. Four of the seven relapses after R-CHOP presented with CNS involvement.
Our data suggest that R-HyperCVAD allows for long-term disease control in both BL and BLL, with a somewhat lower PFS in BLL. In contrast, R-CHOP appears to be inferior with no long-term disease control in BLL.
No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
