[Therapeutic results in 22 cases of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated by ACOP combination chemotherapy].

Twenty-two cases of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were treated during the past 8 years from 1979 to 1986. Median age was 7 years 4 months and the age range was from 2 years 4 months to 14 years 9 months, the male to female ratio being 18 : 4. Primary sites were common in the mediastinum (n = 7) and abdomen (n = 6) followed by submandibular lymph nodes (n = 3). According to Murphy's staging system, 7 were in stage I/II and 15 in stage III/IV. Histological studies of lymphoma tissues and blasts in the cerebrospinal fluid, pleural effusion or ascites revealed that 9 cases were lymphoblastic lymphoma while only 3 were defined as Burkitt's lymphoma. With our protocol of systemic combination chemotherapy (i.e. ACOP), intrathecal methotrexate and/or involved field irradiation, twenty-one out of the 22 cases (93%) attained complete remission and 14 patients are currently alive in continuous complete remission, with a median survival of 28+ months (range 6+ approximately 76+ months).