Relative Survival of Older Patients with Indolent Lymphoma–Analysis From the SEER Database

Indolent lymphomas account for 35–40% of Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). The treatment choices, and as a result, the overall outcome of these indolent lymphomas seem to be changing with the introduction of chemoimmunotherapy. However, the impact of these new treatment approaches on the survival in older patients has not been specifically studied.

We used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database to determine survival for older patients diagnosed with indolent lymphomas. We compared trends in survival between 1977–86, 1987–96 and 1997–2006 in men and women, for three age groups 65–74, 75–84 and 85+ years. Survival rates were calculated up to 9 years post-diagnosis.

Between 1977 and 2006, survival rates increased for both men and women in all three age groups. The greatest improvement in survival was seen at 5 years. Between 1977–86 and 1997–2006, 5-year survival rates increased in men/women by 21%/22%, 23%/29% and 16%/24% in the 65–74, 75–84 and 85+ age groups respectively. Survival gains increased with each decade in all age groups for both sexes with the most marked improvements between 1987–1996 & 1997–2006. Women in the first two groups consistently demonstrated a better survival than men. The oldest old men (85+) had the lowest survival rate with the majority of the deaths occurring in the first year of diagnosis.

Survival for older patients has increased considerably in the interval between 1977–2006 with the largest improvement seen in the 75–84 year old age group. Larger increases in the survival rates between 1987–1996 and 1997–2006 might be accounted for by the benefits of immunotherapy with the introduction of rituximab in 1998. The increased early deaths noted in men 85+, could be related to treatment toxicity. While earlier treatment is being advocated for patients diagnosed with indolent lymphoma, the data we present imply that more careful consideration should be given to the selection of patients above the age of 85 for such treatment. Male-female differences in survival are interesting and further study would seem important to elucidate the causes.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.