The Natural History of Initially Untreated Low-Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas

TLDR

To learn more about the natural history of low‑grade non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma, we studied 83 patients whose advanced disease was initially managed without therapy. We followed these 83 untreated patients to assess outcomes over time. Among them, 5‑year survival was 82 % and 10‑year survival 73 %; the median time to therapy was 3 years, 23 % experienced spontaneous regression (30 % in nodular poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma), and the risk and timing of histologic transformation to intermediate‑ or high‑grade lymphoma were similar regardless of when therapy was initiated. N Engl J Med 1984; 311:1471–5.

Abstract

To learn more about the natural history of low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, we have studied 83 patients in whom the advanced disease was initially managed without therapy. Actuarial survival was 82 per cent at 5 years and 73 per cent at 10 years. The median time until therapy was required was three years. Spontaneous regressions occurred in 19 untreated patients (23 per cent), including 30 per cent of patients with nodular, poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma. Histologic transformation to an Intermediate-Grade or high-grade lymphoma occurred both before and after primary therapy. The actuarial risk of transformation among the initially untreated patients was similar to that in a group of patients treated at this institution immediately after diagnosis. Neither the time to histologic transformation nor the incidence of transformation was influenced by when therapy was started. (N Engl J Med 1984; 311:1471–5.)