Treatment Outcome of Burkitt's Lymphoma in Adolescents and Adults: A Retrospective Study

Abstract Introduction : Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) having three distinct subtypes: endemic, sporadic, and immunodeficiency-associated BL. Sporadic BL accounts for only 1 to 2% of adult NHL. Objectives : The objective of this article was to study the clinical profile and treatment outcome of patients with BL. Materials and Methods : This was a retrospective study of 60 patients with BL conducted in the department of medical oncology at a tertiary cancer center in India during a 10-year period. Patients with BL/leukemia above 14 years of age diagnosed during the study period were included and their clinical presentation, treatment details, and outcome were studied. Results : Among 60 cases with BL, there were 41 males and 19 females. The median age at presentation was 42 years (range: 14–81 years). The main symptoms were lymphadenopathy, abdominal pain, and abdominal distension. Two patients each had paraparesis, breast lump, and jaw swelling and one patient had involvement of the cervix. Thirteen patients had features of tumor lysis at presentation. The Ann Arbor stage was I in 17, II in 16, III in 5, and IV in 22. Fifty-five patients received combination chemotherapy that included hyper-cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin, dexamethasone ± rituximab (hyper-CVAD ± R; 35), cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, prednisolone/ cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisolone ± rituximab CHOP ± R (13), Berlin-Frankfurt-Munich protocol (4), and others (3). Thirty-four patients attained remission, 13 patients had progressive disease, and 8 patients died during chemotherapy. At a median follow-up of 113 months, 58% patients were alive. Conclusions : BL accounts for 1.57% of NHL above the age of 14 years with male preponderance. Intensive, short-duration chemotherapy is the standard treatment. Treatment with hyper-CVAD ± R gives 8-year progression-free survival and overall survival (OS) of 60%. Treatment with CHOP ± R is an alternative option in elderly frail patients with an 8-year OS of 46%.