[Expert system for establishing indications for radiation and combined therapy of patients with non-hodgkin's lymphoma].

Mathematical procedures have been employed which enable to carry out automatic selection within small groups of patients with primary non-Hodgkin's disease, with a view to choose between chemoradiation, radiation or drug therapy. The study included 670 patients, aged 15-79, who were followed up for 1-10 years. Groups were formed on the basis of the following prognostically-significant parameters: sex and age, histological pattern and stage, primary localization and maximal size of tumor (involvement of the mediastinum, bone marrow and peripheral blood). Each group was conceived on the basis of two or three parameters. The efficacy of each therapeutical modality was assessed using the data on overall and recurrence-free survival. A computerized program was used for making prognosis for each patient which, in turn, determined the choice of the most effective type of treatment.