[Results of treatment in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in children using the YU-77, YU-84 and YU-87 protocols].

Fifty-eight children with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) were treated with three different chemotherapeutic protocols at the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics Salata during the period from 1977-1989. Twelve (20%) patients had lymphocytic and 46 (80%) lymphoblastic type of NHL. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of the 1st complete remission induced by different chemotherapeutic protocols (YU-77 86% YU-84 72% and YU-87 81%). However, the 1st relapse occurred in 8% of the patients treated with YU-87 protocol, compared to 30% in those treated with YU-84 and 58% treated with YU-77 (p < 0.01). The probability of 36-month survival was highest in patients treated with the most aggressive chemotherapeutic protocol YU-87 (81%), whereas it was 63% in those treated with YU-84 and 32% treated with YU-77 (p < 0.01). All patients that did not enter the 1st complete remission died during the first year of treatment. The median survival of patients that achieved the 1st complete remission was 28.3 months, while the probability of 36-month survival was 62% (p < 0.001). The survival strongly correlated with the protocol employed and clinical stage, but was independent of the histologic type of NHL.