Objective: To evaluate the role of high-dose chemotherapy (HCT)/autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for nasopharyngeal T cell lymphomas.
Methods: A retrospective review of 51 patients who underwent HCT/ASCT between January 1995 and January 2007.
Results: Of the 51 patients who underwent ASCT, no treatment-related death was seen; sixteen patients relapsed after transplant, two patients are still alive through salvage chemotherapy 91 months and 56 months after relapse, the other fourteen patients died in tumor progression. 1-year, 3-year and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 98.0%, 84.0% and 72.0%, respectively. 1-year, 3-year and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 90.2%, 78.4%and 66.7%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that clinical stage, B symptom and IPI were prognostic factors for patients with nasopharyngeal T cell lymphomas, the P value being 0.041, 0.036 and 0.031, respectively.
Conclusion: High-dose therapy/autologous stem cell transplantation can improve cure rate and prolong survival time significantly in patients with nasopharyngeal T cell lymphomas.