Treatment and Outcomes of Centrofacial NK or T Cell Lymphoma Nasal Type: A Report of 8 Cases and Literature Review - Abstract
Purpose: Extra nodal natural Killer T cell lymphomas nasal types (NKTCL) are rare. Their prognosis is poor. Treatment is still not codified. We report the treatment and evaluation of a series of 8 patients with a review of the literature.
Patients and methods: Between febuary 1993 and december 2012, 8 patients with centrofacial NKTCL were treated in the CHU of Sfax in Tunisia .The average age of patients was 41.5 years with a sex ratio of 3. The diagnosis of NKTCL was confirmed by histological analysis completed by immuno histochemical study. All patients underwent combined treatment: chemotherapy with anthracyclines followed by radiotherapy at a dose of 40-45 Gy.
Results: After primary treatment, 4 patients achieved complete remission and 2 patients achieved partial remission. Two had progression during radiotherapy. The median follow-up was 28.5 months (range: 8-168 months). Only one patient is a live with complete remission. The cause of death was the lymphoma in 6 cases. One patient was died with complete remission.
Conclusion: The treatment of NKTCL, nasal type lymphoma is not standardized. Radiotherapy has a key role in the treatment of localized disease in combination with chemotherapy. However, the best sequence of radiation and chemotherapy has to be defined.