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FLYER reports 96% 3-years-PFS with 4x R-CHOP + 2R without radiation therapy for non-bulky stage I-II DLBCL.
Your patient is 65 and FLYER recruited only 18-60, but you see the point, right?
The vast majority of patients can be cured with 4x R-CHOP in stage I-II DLBCL without any radiation therapy. This is a considerable achievement. FLYER pretty much killed off radiation therapy for non-bulky and non-testicular DLBCL stage I-II. What is radiation therapy supposed to do? Push the 96% PFS to 100% PFS? 😛
History of therapeutic approach in DLBCL Stage I-II over the past 20 years is something like:
8x CHOP --> 3x CHOP + RT --> 3x R-CHOP + RT + 2R or 6x R-CHOP + 2R --> 4x R-CHOP + 2R
So, it's half the chemo compared to 20 years ago. Why? Probably effect of Rituximab and (equally important IMHO) stage migration / treatment guidance with modern diagnostics (PET-CT & flow-cytometry). A lot of those stage I-II DLBCLs diagnosed in the 90s were probably understaged stage III/IV.
On a side note: DA-R-EPOCH also killed off radiation therapy for primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, 7 years ago. Prior to that most patients used to get R-CHOP + RT. RT was deemed crucial for cure and proven to be effective in multiple retrospective analyses. After DA-R-EPOCH started being delivered, I am only seeing 1 patient every couple of years which has residual PET-positive disease or a local recurrence. Pretty much everyone is getting DA-R-EPOCH. Frankly, I am glad. PMBCL often affects young women.
Did you read my post? Dude had residual gross residual after 6 cycles of R-CHOP. And 3 cycles of ICE. He was not in the 96%. This is kinda my point. Chemo is usually enough but in the cases it’s not we shouldn’t forget the RT can be an effective modality. If you radiate someone with HPV+ oropharngeal cancer and they have residual disease afterward do you tell them RT is 90+% effective or send them for surgery?