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Management of Advanced NK/T-Cell Lymphoma

  • Lymphomas (C Dearden, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

NK/T-cell lymphomas are aggressive malignancies, and the outlook is poor when conventional anthracycline-containing regimens designed for B-cell lymphomas are used. With the advent of L-asparaginase-containing regimens, treatment outcome has significantly improved. L-asparaginase-containing regimens are now considered the standard in the management of NK/T-cell lymphomas. In advanced diseases, however, outcome remains unsatisfactory, with durable remission achieved in only about 50 % of cases. Stratification of patients with advanced NK/T-cell lymphomas is needed, so that poor-risk patients can be given additional therapy to improve outcome. Conventional presentation parameters are untested and appear inadequate for prognostication when L-asparaginase-containing regimens are used. Recent evidence suggests that dynamic factors during treatment and interim assessment, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA quantification and positron emission tomography computed tomography findings, are more useful in patient stratification. The role of high-dose chemotherapy and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation requires evaluation in an overall risk-adapted treatment algorithm.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Eric Tse and Dr. Yok-Lam Kwong each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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  1. Department of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China

    Eric Tse & Yok-Lam Kwong

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Correspondence to Yok-Lam Kwong.

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Tse, E., Kwong, YL. Management of Advanced NK/T-Cell Lymphoma. Curr Hematol Malig Rep 9, 233–242 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-014-0216-3

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