1. ¹Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
2. ²Department of Hematology-Oncology, Gachun Medical School Gil Medical Center, Incheon, Korea
3. ³Dong-A Cancer Center, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea
4. ⁴Division of Hematology-Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
5. ⁵Department of Hematology-Oncology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence: Dr WS Kim, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Ilwon-dong Kangnam-ku, Seoul 135-710, Korea. E-mail: wskimsmc@smc.samsung.co.kr

⁶These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received 23 December 2005; Revised 7 February 2006; Accepted 11 February 2006; Published online 20 March 2006.

Abstract

To determine the role of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDC/ASCT) in extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma patients, we conducted a retrospective analysis. In our previous study, we searched for patients who had received HDC/ASCT and identified 16 eligible patients and compared the treatment outcome with historical control group (n=246). Nine patients received HDC/ASCT in the first (CR1) or second complete remission (CR2), while seven patients received HDC/ASCT as salvage. Twelve of 16 patients achieved or maintained CR after HDC/ASCT. Among the 12 patients, five patients relapsed. Estimated 2-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were 71.312.4% and 25.814.3%, respectively. There was a tendency of better survival in patients who received HDC/ASCT as compared to those who did not (P=0.091). In subset analysis, patients who underwent HDC/ASCT at CR (P=0.049) and patients with stage III or IV (P=0.001) had a favorable outcome. Patients with NKIPI 3,4 or EUNKTL, who underwent HDC/ASCT had more prolonged survival without statistical significance (P=0.055 and 0.056). In conclusion, HDC/ASCT may be considered as a treatment option for patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, especially those in CR, with advanced disease (stage III/IV or EUNKTL) and high NKIPI scores.