Palliative radiotherapy with 1 x 8 Gy using conformal radiotherapy for chemotherapy-refractory, recurrent, aggressive lymphomas.

We performed palliative radiotherapy with a single-fraction of 8 Gy using a three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) technique for patients with dyspnea due to a bulky nasooropharyngeal lesion who had chemotherapy-refractory, recurrent, aggressive lymphoma. After palliative radiotherapy, a complete response with acceptable toxicity was achieved at the irradiated sites of two patients, and the symptoms resolved completely. These results indicated that a single fraction of 8 Gy using 3D-CRT is an effective palliative treatment for chemotherapy-refractory, recurrent, aggressive lymphoma.