Background: Age is known to have an important influence on survival in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). This observation and the relationship of age to other prognostic factors are of interest in designing treatment programs for these patients. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of age to other known prognostic variables and survival in NHL.
Patients and methods: Data on clinical features, treatment, response, survival and cause of death from 547 patients with NHL diagnosed between 1980 and 1989 were collected and analyzed by age group. Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors and a survival comparison to an age and sex matched control population were performed.
Results: Survival curves for 5-year age groups up to and including age 60-64 years were similar, after which a major effect of age upon survival was apparent. When groups aged < 65 years and > and = 65 years were compared, there were similar proportions of most known prognostic factors, except for a higher proportion with increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and extranodal disease in older patients. When analyzed by age group, older patients had a lower response rate to initial therapy and salvage treatments. In younger patients, several recognized prognostic variables were found to lack significance.
Conclusions: Prognostic variables differ between younger and older patients with NHL. Age, histology, LDH elevation and gender are less important in younger patients; only bulky disease is more important than in older patients. A lower response rate, poor response to salvage therapy and excess mortality, often due to concurrent diseases, were apparent in older patients. Age is a significant prognostic factor only in patients age > and = 65 years.