Background: Adult lymphoblastic lymphoma was associated with a poor prognosis,
and long-term survivors were few. After the early-1980s, however, several investigators
have reported high therapeutic effects of ALL(acute lymphoblastic leukemia) protocols in
this disease. We evaluated clinical features of lymphoblastic lymphoma and the results
of L-l7M chemotherapeutic regimen, which was initially designed for therapy of ALL, in
adult patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma.
Methods: Fourteen Patients with lymphoblastic lymphoma received L-l7M
chemotherapy; 11 chemotherapy-naive patients, 3 previously chemotherapy-received
patients. L-l7M chromotherapy contained multiple drugs including vincristine,
prednisolone, adriamycin, cyclophosphamidle, daunorubicin, cytarabine, 6-thioguanine,
methotrexate, L-asparaginase, dactinomycin, and BCNU, which were employed in various
combinations during the induction, consolidation and maintenance phases.
Results: The age of patients ranged from 14 to 35 years, with a median of 23 years.
The male-to-female ratio was 1.3 : 1. The most common symptoms or signs were
multiple lymphnode enlargement. Five patients had mediastinal mass. Lymphoma
involved BM in 10 patients. Immunophenotyping study showed 9 T-cell type and 3
B-cell type. Three patients with B-cell type had shorter survival compared to T-cell
type. In 14 patients, median duration of survival after initial diagnosis was 229
weeks(7-379+). In evaluable patients(13), median duration of survival after
the star of L-l7M was 123 weeks(4-351+). Ten patients achieved complete
remission with L-l7M, and 8 of them are still in remission for duration of
18+to 345+weeks. Two out of ten patients(20%) relapsed in
lymph node and bone marrow. Median duration of granulocytopenia was 8 days(0∼34
days) during the induction phase and 17 days(6∼41 days) in consolidation phase.
Non-hematologic toxicities were nausea, vomiting, alopecia, stomititis, diarrhea, and
hepatotoxicity.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that L-l7M chemotherapy is effective in adult
lymphoblastic lymphoma.

Keywords: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Adult Iymphoblastic Iymphoma, L-l7M chemorapy