Prolonged survival in follicular non Hodgkins lymphoma is predicted by achievement of complete remission with initial treatment: results of a long-term study with multivariate analysis of prognostic factors.

Prognostic factors among 200 patients with follicular non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) (categories B to D of the Working Formulation) requiring systemic therapy were investigated. In univariate analyses factors that had a favourable influence on survival included complete response to treatment, female sex and age < 60 years, while the presence of B-symptoms was a weakly adverse prognostic factor. In a multivariate analysis only the achievement of CR (chi square = 5.9, p = 0.015) and sex (chi 2 = 5.9, p = 0.015) were significant prognostic factors for survival. Not only was achievement of CR predictive of survival, CR duration > or = 2 years was associated with median overall survival in excess of 6 years. These results suggest that patients who are responsive to first line chemotherapy have a good prognosis and that experimental treatments such as high dose chemotherapy with hemopoetic rescue should be reserved for patients who either fail to achieve CR with initial therapy or who relapse within 2 years of initial treatment.