Adult Lymphoblastic Lymphoma
Current Clinical Trials
Lymphoblastic lymphoma is a very aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
(NHL), which often occurs in young patients, but not exclusively. Lymphoblastic lymphoma is commonly
associated with large mediastinal masses and has a high predilection for
disseminating to bone marrow and the central nervous system (CNS), much like
acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Treatment is usually patterned after
ALL. Intensive combination chemotherapy with CNS prophylaxis is the standard
treatment of this aggressive histologic type of NHL. Radiation therapy is sometimes given to areas of
bulky tumor masses. Since these forms of NHL tend to
progress quickly, combination chemotherapy is instituted rapidly once the
diagnosis has been confirmed. Careful review of the pathologic specimens, bone
marrow aspirate and biopsy specimen, cerebrospinal fluid cytology, and
lymphocyte marker constitute the most important aspects of the pretreatment
staging workup. New treatment approaches are being developed by the national
cooperative groups. Other approaches include the use of bone marrow
transplantation for consolidation. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Adult Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treatment for more information.)
Current Clinical Trials
Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with adult lymphoblastic lymphoma. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.
General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI Web site.
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