Effectiveness of moderate dose combination chemotherapy in Burkitt's lymphoma.

Twenty-five evaluable pediatric patients with histologically proven Burkitt's lymphoma were treated with moderate dose combination chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, methotrexate and cytosine arabinoside (COMA regime) without central nervous system prophylaxis. Complete remission was achieved in 94.1% (16/17) of patients with Stage I, I R, II and III A disease, with disease-free survival of more than 3 years. This protocol was attended by minimal chemotherapeutic toxicity. This combination chemotherapy was ineffective in more advanced disease (Stages III B, IV), major cause of failure being progressive disease with central nervous system involvement. This study showed the effectiveness of moderate dose chemotherapy without CNS prophylaxis in early stage Burkitt's lymphoma including Stage III A and needs for aggressive chemotherapy with CNS prophylaxis in more advanced disease.