Abstract
Extra-nodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (EN-NK/TCL-NT), is rare in the Western world. We launched the current single-institutional retrospective study with Institutional Review Board approval to better understand the disease. 43 EN-NK/TCL-NT patients treated from 1996 to 2014 were analyzed, including 10 (23%) Asians and 33 (76%) non-Asians. 19/26 (73%) early-stage patients received short-course chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. 14/17 (82%) advanced-stage patients received primary chemotherapy. Complete response rate was significantly higher in the modified-SMILE group than the accelerated-CHOP group (80% vs. 30%, p = 0.015). The 2-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 60% and 40%, respectively. Early-stage disease had significantly higher 2-year OS (87% vs. 21%) and PFS (56% vs.18%) than advanced-stage (p < 0.001). Ethnicity had no prognostic difference. EN-NK/TCL-NT in non-Asians shared similar disease characteristics and treatment outcomes with Asians. Most early-stage patients have achieved durable remissions. Management of advanced-stage disease remains challenging, with frequent progression and high mortality.
Potential conflict of interest
Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2016.1180689.
Funding
This research was funded in part through the Lymphoma Foundation and the Connecticut Sports Foundation. MSKCC is supported by the NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P 30 CA008748. Dr S. Qi was supported by the Dr Mortimer Lacher, MD, fellowship in Radiation Oncology.