PRIMARY OVARIAN NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA - OUTCOME AFTER TREATMENT WITH COMBINATION CHEMOTHERAPY

Because the outcome of patients with primary ovarian non-Hodgkin's lym phoma (NHL) is controversial, we retrospectively analyzed experience w ith adults seen at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Cente r from 1974 to 1993. Patients were included if at least one ovary was pathologically involved, and if combination chemotherapy was used that must have included doxorubicin for intermediate grade histologies. We identified 15 patients who constituted 0.5% of all untreated NHL and 1.5% of untreated ovarian neoplasms that presented to our institution during this time. One patient refused therapy, leaving 14 assessable f or response. Nine patients had intermediate-grade, 5 had high-grade, a nd none had low-grade NHL. One ovary was involved in 4 patients, and b oth in 10, in 7 of whom additional sites were involved, including supr adiaphragmatic nodes in 2. Four patients had AAS I and 10 had AAS IV. Favorable (0 or 1) and unfavorable (>1) IPI scores were seen in 5 and 9 patients, respectively. The complete remission rate for all patients was 64%, and 5-year survival and FFS for all assessable patients were 57 and 46%, respectively. We conclude that the complete remission rat e and FFS of patients with ovarian NHL treated with appropriate chemot herapy appear to be similar to that of patients with other nodal NHLs. Further work is required to determine prognostic factors in ovarian N HL. (C) 1997 Academic Press.