Characteristics and Outcomes of Chinese Children With Advanced Stage Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma: A Single-Center Experience

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of Chinese children with advanced stage anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) who were treated with the low-intensity APO regimen. METHODS: Clinical data from children newly diagnosed with advanced stage ALCL and treated with the APO regimen were reviewed. RESULTS: Altogether 22 eligible patients with advanced stage ALCL were recruited in this study. 18 (81%) patients achieved complete response (CR) after the initial induction, and 4 experienced relapse. Among patients with relapsed or refractory ALCL, CR was achieved in 3 (50%) who received the BFM95 R3/R4 regimen. Besides, 2 patients received the targeted therapy with crizotinib and were still alive. The 5-year OS and EFS rates were 82 ± 8.7% and 68.2 ± 9.4%%, respectively. According to our results, the elevated LDH level and bone marrow involvement were identified as the poor prognostic factors for EFS (p=0.035 and 0.048, respectively). During APO treatment, only 23% patients experienced grade 3-4 hematologic toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, bone marrow involvement and elevated serum LDH levels were identified as the poor prognostic factors for EFS. In resource-limited regions, patients with advanced stage ALCL can also achieve comparable outcomes to those in high-income regions, and the BFM95 R3/R4 regimen can take the role of salvage treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Nonetheless, new therapeutic strategy is still needed.