Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Pages: 1124-1132

Journal: Blood

Volume number: 135

Issue number: 14

ISSN: 0006-4971

eISSN: 1528-0020

Open access status: Bronze

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2019003591

Publisher: American Society of Hematology (ASH Publications)

Abstract: 
Children with refractory or relapsed Burkitt lymphoma (BL) or Burkitt leukemia (B-AL) have a poor chance to survive. We describe characteristics, outcome, reinduction, and transplantation approaches and evaluate risk factors among children with progression of a BUB-AL included in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma-Berlin-Frankfurt-Miinster studies between 1986 and 2016. Treatment recommendation was reinduction including rituximab from the early 2000s followed by blood stem cell transplantation. The 3-year survival of the 157 children was 18.5 +/- 3%. Survival significantly improved from 11 +/- 3% before to 27 +/- 5% after 2000 (P < .001), allowing for risk factor analyses among the latter 75 patients. Survival of 14 patients with relapse after initial therapy for low-risk disease (R1/R2) was 50 +/- 13% compared with 21 +/- 5% for 61 patients progressing after R3/R4 therapy (P< .02). A total of 25 of 28 patients with progression during first-line therapy, 31 of 32 with progression during reinduction, 15 of 16 not reaching a complete remission (CR) before transplantation, 9 of 10 treated with rituximab front-line, and all 13 patients not receiving rituximab during reinduction died. Forty-six patients received stem cell transplantation (20 autologous, 26 allogeneic). Survival after a regimen combining rituximab with continuous-infusion chemotherapy followed by allogeneic transplantation was 67 +/- 12% compared with 18 +/- 5% for all other regimen and transplantations (P = .003). Patients with relapsed BL/B-AL have a poor chance to survive after current effective frontline therapies. Progression during initial or reinduction chemotherapy and initial high-risk disease are risk factors in relapse. Time-condensed continuous-infusion reinduction followed by stem cell transplantation forms the basis for testing new drugs.

Harvard Citation style: Woessmann, W., Zimmermann, M., Meinhardt, A., Mueller, S., Hauch, H., Knoerr, F., et al. (2020) Progressive or relapsed Burkitt lymphoma or leukemia in children and adolescents after BFM-type first-line therapy, Blood, 135(14), pp. 1124-1132. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2019003591

APA Citation style: Woessmann, W., Zimmermann, M., Meinhardt, A., Mueller, S., Hauch, H., Knoerr, F., Oschlies, I., Klapper, W., Niggli, F., Kabickova, E., Attarbaschi, A., Reiter, A., & Burkhardt, B. (2020). Progressive or relapsed Burkitt lymphoma or leukemia in children and adolescents after BFM-type first-line therapy. Blood. 135(14), 1124-1132. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood.2019003591