Long-term survival for lymphoid neoplasms and national health expenditure (EUROCARE-6): a retrospective, population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Management of lymphoid malignancies requires substantial health system resources. Total national health expenditure might influence population-based lymphoid malignancy survival. We studied the long-term survival of patients with 12 lymphoid malignancy types and examined whether different levels of national health expenditure might explain differences in lymphoid malignancy prognosis between European countries and regions. METHODS: For this observational, retrospective, population-based study, we analysed the EUROCARE-6 dataset of patients aged 15 or older diagnosed between 2001 and 2013 with one of 12 lymphoid malignancies defined according to International Classification of Disease for Oncology (third edition) and WHO classification, and followed up to 2014 (Jan 1, 2001-Dec 31, 2014). Countries were classified according to their mean total national health expenditure quartile in 2001-13. For each lymphoid malignancy, 5-year and 10-year age-standardised relative survival (ASRS) was calculated using the period approach. Generalised linear models indicated the effects of age at diagnosis, gender, and total national health expenditure on the relative excess risk of death (RER). FINDINGS: 82 cancer registries (61 regional and 21 national) from 27 European countries provided data eligible for 10-year survival estimates comprising 890 730 lymphoid malignancy cases diagnosed in 2001-13. Median follow-up time was 13 years (IQR 13-14). Of the 12 lymphoid malignancies, the 10-year ASRS in Europe was highest for hairy cell leukaemia (82·6% [95% CI 78·9-86·5) and Hodgkin lymphoma (79·3% [78·6-79·9]) and lowest for plasma cell neoplasms (29·5% [28·9-30·0]). RER increased with age at diagnosis, particularly from 55-64 years to 75 years or older, for all lymphoid malignancies. Women had higher ASRS than men for all lymphoid malignancies, except for precursor B, T, or natural killer cell, or not-otherwise specified lymphoblastic lymphoma or leukaemia. 10-year ASRS for each lymphoid malignancy was higher (and the RER lower) in countries in the highest national health expenditure quartile than in countries in the lowest quartile, with a decreasing pattern through quartiles for many lymphoid malignancies. 10-year ASRS for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the most representative class for lymphoid malignancies based on the number of incident cases, was 59·3% (95% CI 58·7-60·0) in the first quartile, 57·6% (55·2-58·7) in the second quartile, 55·4% (54·3-56·5) in the third quartile, and 44·7% (43·6-45·8) in the fourth quartile; with reference to the European mean, the RER was 0·80 (95% CI 0·79-0·82) in the first, 0·91 (0·90-0·93) in the second, 0·94 (0·92-0·96) in the third, and 1·45 (1·42-1·48) in the fourth quartiles. INTERPRETATION: Total national health expenditure is associated with geographical inequalities in lymphoid malignancy prognosis. Policy decisions on allocating economic resources and implementing evidence-based models of care are needed to reduce these differences. FUNDING: Italian Ministry of Health, European Commission, Estonian Research Council.

Stage at diagnosis and survival among adolescents and young adults with lymphomas following the Affordable Care Act implementation in California.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs, 15-39 years) are the largest uninsured population in the Unites States, increasing the likelihood of late-stage cancer diagnosis and poor survival. We evaluated the associations between the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurance coverage, stage at diagnosis and survival among AYAs with lymphoma. We used data from the California Cancer Registry linked to Medicaid enrollment files on AYAs diagnosed with a primary non-Hodgkin (NHL; n = 5959) or Hodgkin (n = 5378) lymphoma pre-ACA and in the early and full ACA eras. Health insurance was categorized as continuous Medicaid, discontinuous Medicaid, Medicaid enrollment at diagnosis/uninsurance, other public and private. We used multivariable regression models for statistical analyses. The proportion of AYAs uninsured/Medicaid enrolled at diagnosis decreased from 13.4% pre-ACA to 9.7% with full ACA implementation, while continuous Medicaid increased from 9.3% to 29.6% during this time (P < .001). After full ACA, AYAs with NHL were less likely to be diagnosed with Stage IV disease (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.73-0.97). AYAs with lymphoma were more likely to receive care at National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Centers (aOR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.28-1.57) and had lower likelihood of death (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.46-0.63) after full ACA. However, AYAs from the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods, racial/ethnic minority groups and those with Medicaid continued to experience worse survival. In summary, AYAs with lymphomas experienced increased access to healthcare and better clinical outcomes following Medicaid expansion under the ACA. Yet, socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities remain, calling for additional efforts to decrease health inequities among underserved AYAs with lymphoma.

Functional imaging using radiomic features in assessment of lymphoma.

Lymphomas are typically large, well-defined, and relatively homogeneous tumors, and therefore represent ideal targets for the use of radiomics. Of the available functional imaging tests, [18F]FDG-PET for body lymphoma and diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) for central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma are of particular interest. The current literature suggests that two main applications for radiomics in lymphoma show promise: differentiation of lymphomas from other tumors, and lymphoma treatment response and outcome prognostication. In particular, encouraging results reported in the limited number of presently available studies that utilize functional imaging suggest that (1) MRI-based radiomics enables differentiation of CNS lymphoma from glioblastoma, and (2) baseline [18F]FDG-PET radiomics could be useful for survival prognostication, adding to or even replacing commonly used metrics such as standardized uptake values and metabolic tumor volume. However, due to differences in biological and clinical characteristics of different lymphoma subtypes and an increasing number of treatment options, more data are required to support these findings. Furthermore, a consensus on several critical steps in the radiomics workflow -most importantly, image reconstruction and post processing, lesion segmentation, and choice of classification algorithm- is desirable to ensure comparability of results between research institutions.

Burden of lymphoma in China, 2006-2016: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016.

BACKGROUND: The accurate information about lymphoma burden at national and provincial levels remains unknown in China. METHODS: Following the general analytical strategy used in GBD 2016, the age-, sex-, and province-specific incidence, mortality, and prevalence of lymphoma in China were analyzed. Trends in the incidence, mortality, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were assessed from 2006 to 2016. RESULTS: It was estimated that there were 75,400 new cases and 40,500 deaths of lymphoma in 2016 in China, of which 6900 new cases and 2900 deaths were due to HL, while 68,500 new cases and 37,600 deaths were due to NHL. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), mortality rate (ASMR), and prevalence rate (ASPR) per 100,000 were 0.46, 0.19, and 1.75 for HL, and 4.29, 2.45, and 14.9 for NHL, respectively. An upward trend with age in incidence and mortality was observed. Males had higher incidence and mortality rates than females in all age groups. Sociodemographic index had a correlation with the ASIR (r = 0.75), ASMR (r = - 0.74), ASPR (r = 0.84), and age-standardized DALYs (r = - 0.75) of HL, as well as with the ASIR (r = 0.80), ASPR (r = 0.83), and age-standardized DALYs (r = - 0.33) of NHL. From 2006 to 2016, the age-standardized DALYs of HL decreased significantly, while the age-standardized DALYs of NHL increased from 2006 to 2013 and remained stable from 2013 to 2016. CONCLUSIONS: The burden of lymphoma in China showed unexpected patterns varied by sex, age, and provinces, with an increased trend of NHL and a decreased trend of HL from 2006 to 2016.

Minimal Residual Disease Assessment in Lymphoma: Methods and Applications.

Standard methods for disease response assessment in patients with lymphoma, including positron emission tomography and computed tomography scans, are imperfect. In other hematologic malignancies, particularly leukemias, the ability to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) is increasingly influencing treatment paradigms. However, in many subtypes of lymphoma, the application of MRD assessment techniques, like flow cytometry or polymerase chain reaction-based methods, has been challenging because of the absence of readily detected circulating disease or canonic chromosomal translocations. Newer MRD detection methods that use next-generation sequencing have yielded promising results in a number of lymphoma subtypes, fueling the hope that MRD detection may soon be applicable in clinical practice for most patients with lymphoma. MRD assessment can provide real-time information about tumor burden and response to therapy, noninvasive genomic profiling, and monitoring of clonal dynamics, allowing for many possible applications that could significantly affect the care of patients with lymphoma. Further validation of MRD assessment methods, including the incorporation of MRD assessment into clinical trials in patients with lymphoma, will be critical to determine how best to deploy MRD testing in routine practice and whether MRD assessment can ultimately bring us closer to the goal of personalized lymphoma care. In this review article, we describe the methods available for detecting MRD in patients with lymphoma and their relative advantages and disadvantages. We discuss preliminary results supporting the potential applications for MRD testing in the care of patients with lymphoma and strategies for including MRD assessment in lymphoma clinical trials.

A Comprehensive Assessment of Toxicities in Patients with Central Nervous System Lymphoma Undergoing Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Using Thiotepa, Busulfan, and Cyclophosphamide Conditioning.

High-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) with thiotepa, busulfan, and cyclophosphamide (TBC) conditioning has emerged as an effective postinduction treatment strategy for patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) or secondary central nervous system lymphoma (SCNSL), but it is associated with considerable toxicity and transplantation-related mortality (TRM) in the modern era. Forty-three adult patients with chemosensitive PCNSL or SCNSL underwent TBC-conditioned ASCT between 2006 and 2015. Twenty-eight of these patients received pharmacokinetically (PK)-targeted busulfan dosing. The median number of clinically relevant individual grade ≥3 nonhematologic toxicities per patient was 5. We found no association between pretransplantation patient characteristics and the presence of more than 5 grade ≥3 nonhematologic toxicities. Patients with elevated first-dose busulfan area under the curve values did not experience more toxicity. Paradoxically, patients treated with more than 2 regimens before undergoing ASCT had lower first-dose busulfan AUC values. With a median follow-up among survivors of 20 months, 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) from the time of ASCT were 83% and 87%, respectively. Although this study reaffirms the favorable PFS and OS associated with TBC-conditioned ASCT for PCNSL or SCNSL, this treatment strategy carries a large toxicity burden.

Outpatient administration of BEAM conditioning prior to autologous stem cell transplantation for lymphoma is safe, feasible, and cost-effective.

High-dose BEAM chemotherapy (BCNU, etoposide, Ara-C, and melphalan) followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is frequently used as consolidative therapy for patients with recurrent or refractory Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The BEAM regimen has traditionally been administered over 6 days in the hospital, with patients remaining hospitalized until hematologic recovery and clinical stability. In an effort to reduce the length of hospitalization for these patients, our institution has transitioned from inpatient (IP) to outpatient (OP) administration of BEAM conditioning. Here, we report the results of an analysis of the feasibility, cost, complications, and outcomes for the initial group of patients who received OP BEAM compared to a prior cohort of patients who received IP BEAM. Patient and disease characteristics were comparable for the two cohorts, as were engraftment kinetics. Length of hospital stay was reduced by 6 days for the OP cohort (P < 0.001), resulting in a cost savings of more than $17,000 per patient. Fewer complications occurred in the OP cohort, including severe enteritis (P = 0.01), organ toxicities (P = 0.01), and infections (P = 0.04). Overall survival rate up to 3 years posttransplant was better for the OP cohort (P = 0.02), likely due to differences in posttransplant therapies. We conclude that OP administration of BEAM conditioning is safe and may offer significant advantages, including decreased length of hospitalization, reduced costs, decreased risks for severe toxicities and infectious complications, and likely improvement in patient satisfaction and quality of life.

Association of socioeconomic status with autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation outcomes for lymphoma.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is an important determinant of disparities in health care. The association of SES with outcomes in autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) has not been described previously. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 687 AHCT recipients with lymphoma transplanted between 2003 and 2013. Patients were categorized into low (<$50 000/year) and high SES (⩾$50 000/year). A greater proportion of low SES patients lived farther away from our center (median 54 vs 28 miles), belonged to a racial minority (12 vs 3%), had poorer performance status (4 vs 1%) and had high-risk disease at AHCT (9 vs 5%). Median follow-up was 53 months. In univariable analysis, low SES patients had significantly higher relapse mortality and lower OS and PFS. This was confirmed on multivariable analysis for relapse mortality (HR for high vs low SES: 0.74 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.54-0.99), P=0.05), OS (HR 0.74 (0.58-0.95), P=0.02) and PFS (HR 0.77 (0.63-0.95), P=0.02). In multivariable analysis of ⩾1-year progression-free survivors, high SES patients had better OS (HR 0.73, P=0.05 vs low SES) that was primarily driven by a trend toward lower risk of non-relapse mortality (HR 0.62, P=0.06). SES is associated with outcomes of AHCT in patients with lymphoma.

Importance of Histologic Verification of Positive Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Findings in the Follow-Up of Patients With Malignant Lymphoma.

INTRODUCTION: Posttherapy positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning in patients with malignant lymphoma remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the utility of achieving histologic verification of positive PET/CT findings in the follow-up of patients with malignant lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 771 PET/CT scans were performed as posttherapy follow-up in 190 lymphoma patients who had experienced a complete remission at our institution. Fifty-two patients (27.3%) had (18)F-fludeoxyglucose-positive lesions on posttherapy PET/CT, and a histologic diagnosis was carried out in 32 cases (16.8%). Ten patients (5.2%) exhibited relapse of lymphoma. Twelve lesions in 11 patients (5.8%) were proven to be second primary malignancies (SPM). Eleven patients (5.8%) were proven to have benign or normal tissue lesions. RESULTS: Among the 32 histologically verified PET/CT-positive patients, the symptomatic PET/CT-positive patients (n = 10; 4 SPM, 6 lymphoma relapse) had a significantly shorter overall survival rate than the asymptomatic PET/CT-positive patients (n = 22; 7 SPM, 4 lymphoma relapse, 11 benign/normal tissue lesions) (2-year overall survival, 48.2% vs. 100%, respectively; P < .001). CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes that the histologic diagnosis should be confirmed in posttherapy PET/CT-positive patients via biopsy before adjusting the treatment regimen as a result of the high false-positive rate, including unexpected SPM or benign/normal tissue lesions.

The clinical impact of staging bone marrow examination on treatment decisions and prognostic assessment of lymphoma patients.

This study investigates the value of performing a staging bone marrow in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL) and classical hodgkin lymphoma (CHL). The results of 3112 staging bone marrow examinations were assessed for impact on prognostic assessment and critical treatment decisions. The detection of marrow involvement altered the disease-specific prognostic index for 4·3% of DLBCL, 6·2% of FL and 0·6% of CHL but marrow involvement in DLBCL was an independent prognostic factor. Knowing the marrow status potentially changed treatment in 92 patients, detection of these patients would have required 854 examinations to be performed.

Productivity loss due to premature mortality caused by blood cancer: a study based on patients undergoing stem cell transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: Stem cell transplantation has been used for many years to treat haematological malignancies that could not be cured by other treatments. Despite this medical breakthrough, mortality rates remain high. Our purpose was to evaluate labour productivity losses associated with premature mortality due to blood cancer in recipients of stem cell transplantations. METHODS: We collected primary data from the clinical histories of blood cancer patients who had undergone stem cell transplantation between 2006 and 2011 in two Spanish hospitals. We carried out a descriptive analysis and calculated the years of potential life lost and years of potential productive life lost. Labour productivity losses due to premature mortality were estimated using the Human Capital method. An alternative approach, the Friction Cost method, was used as part of the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Our findings suggest that, in a population of 179 transplanted and deceased patients, males and people who die between the ages of 30 and 49 years generate higher labour productivity losses. The estimated loss amounts to over €31.4 million using the Human Capital method (€480,152 using the Friction Cost method), which means an average of €185,855 per death. The highest labour productivity losses are produced by leukaemia. However, lymphoma generates the highest loss per death. CONCLUSIONS: Further efforts are needed to reduce premature mortality in blood cancer patients undergoing transplantations and reduce economic losses.

Models of survivorship care provision in adult patients with haematological cancer: an integrative literature review.

PURPOSE: Increasing numbers of haematology cancer survivors warrants identification of the most effective model of survivorship care to survivors from a diverse range of haematological cancers with aggressive treatment regimens. This review aimed to identify models of survivorship care to support the needs of haematology cancer survivors. METHOD: An integrative literature review method utilised a search of electronic databases (CINAHL, Medline, PsycInfo, PubMed, EMBASE, PsycArticles, and Cochrane Library) for eligible articles (up to July 2014). Articles were included if they proposed or reported the use of a model of care for haematology cancer survivors. RESULTS: Fourteen articles were included in this review. Eight articles proposed and described models of care, and six reported the use of a range of survivorship models of care in haematology cancer survivors. No randomised controlled trials or literature reviews were found to have been undertaken specifically with this cohort of cancer survivors. There was variation in the models described and who provided the survivorship care. CONCLUSION: Due to the lack of studies evaluating the effectiveness of models of care, it is difficult to determine the best model of care for haematology cancer survivors. Many different models of care are being put into practice before robust research is conducted. Therefore, well-designed high-quality pragmatic randomised controlled trials are required to inform clinical practice.

Factors affecting receipt of expensive cancer treatments and mortality: evidence from stem cell transplantation for leukemia and lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors that affect whether patients diagnosed with either leukemia or lymphoma receive a stem cell transplant and secondly if receipt of stem cell transplantation is linked to improved survival. DATA: California inpatient discharge records (2002-2003) for patients with either leukemia or lymphoma linked with vital statistics death records (2002-2005). STUDY DESIGN: Bivariate Probit treatment effects model that accounts for both the type of treatment received and survival while controlling for nonrandom selection due to unobservable factors. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Having private insurance coverage and residence in a well-educated county increased the chances a patient with either disease received HSCT. Increasing age and travel distance to the nearest transplant hospital had the opposite effect. Receipt of HSCT had a significant impact on mortality. We found the probability of death was 4.3 percentage points higher for leukemia patients who did NOT have HSCT. Receipt of HSCT reduced the chances of dying by almost 50 percent. The likelihood of death among lymphoma patients who underwent HSCT was almost 5 percentage points lower, a 70 percent reduction in the probability of death. CONCLUSIONS: The findings raise concern about access to expensive, but highly effective cancer treatments for patients with certain hematologic malignancies.

Surveillance imaging for lymphoma: pros and cons.

There is no international consensus on the optimal frequency or duration of computed tomography or positron emission tomography scanning for surveillance in patients who achieve complete remission after initial therapy for lymphoma. Although some clinical practice guidelines suggest periodic imaging is reasonable, others suggest little or no benefit to this practice. From a theoretical perspective, the frequency and duration of surveillance imaging is largely dependent upon the lymphoma subtype. Aggressive lymphomas with a fast growth rate will require surveillance more frequently and for a shorter duration compared to the indolent lymphomas. Historically, relapse has been detected in a majority of patients based upon clinically evident signs and symptoms. Currently, no study has demonstrated an overall survival difference for patients with relapse detected by imaging as opposed to clinical evaluation, although one study did demonstrate a lower second-line International Prognostic Index in patients with relapse detected by surveillance imaging. Enthusiasm for this finding has been tempered by recent studies highlighting the potential long-term risk of secondary malignancies because of ionizing radiation exposure from diagnostic imaging. These factors along with the significant costs associated with diagnostic imaging have contributed to an ongoing debate regarding the relative costs, risks, and benefits of radiographic surveillance. Herein we present perspectives for and against routine surveillance imaging in an effort to facilitate a better understanding of the issues relevant to what is ultimately a clinical decision made by an oncologist and his or her patient.

Geriatric assessment is associated with completion of chemotherapy, toxicity, and survival in older adults with cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to determine whether geriatric assessments are associated with completion of a chemotherapy course, grade III/IV toxicity or survival in older adults with cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, patients aged 65 years and older with colorectal, lung, or breast cancer or lymphoma completed a brief geriatric assessment prior to chemotherapy. Endpoints included completion of the planned number of chemotherapy cycles, grade III/IV toxicity and survival. Multivariate logistic regression determined which factors were independently associated with completion of therapy, grade III/IV toxicity or death. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients were enrolled in the study. The median age was 73 years (range 65­89). Geriatric syndromes were common, including depression (21.5%), dependence on others to carry out instrumental activities of daily living (38.5%) and activities of daily living (10.8%), and comorbidities (mild 47.7%, moderate 20%, severe 15.4%). Of the 65 participants, 67.6%completed the planned number of chemotherapy cycles. Curative intent therapy [OR 4.97 (95% CI 1.21­18.81)], Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2­3 [OR 0.089 (0.015­0.53)] and renal function [OR 1.03 (1.00­1.06) per ml/min] were significantly associated with therapy completion. Furthermore, 31.1% experienced grade III/IV nonhematologic toxicity. Moderate to severe comorbidities significantly increased the risk of grade III/IV non-hematologic toxicity [OR 6.13 (1.65­22.74)]. Patients who received chemotherapy with curative intent had lower mortality [HR 0.15 (0.06­0.42)], while patients who reported a fall in themonth prior to chemotherapy had an increased risk of death [HR 3.20 (1.13­9.11)]. CONCLUSIONS: Geriatric assessment is associatedwith completion of a planned number of cycles of chemotherapy, grade III/IV non-hematologic toxicity, and mortality.

Validation of the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index: a prospective, multicenter GITMO study.

The development of tools for the prediction of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) would offer a major guidance in the therapeutic decision. Recently, the Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-Specific Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) has been associated with increased NRM risk in several retrospective studies, but its clinical utility has never been demonstrated prospectively in an adequately sized cohort. To this aim, we prospectively evaluated a consecutive cohort of 1937 patients receiving HSCT in Italy over 2 years. HCT-CI was strongly correlated with both 2-year NRM (14.7%, 21.3%, and 27.3% in patients having an HCT-CI score of 0, 1-2, and ≥ 3, respectively) and overall survival (56.4%, 54.5%, and 41.3%, respectively). There was an excellent calibration between the predicted and observed 2-year NRM in patients having an HCT-CI score of 0 and 1-2, whereas in the ≥ 3 group the predicted NRM overestimated the observed NRM (41% vs 27.3%). HCT-CI alone was the strongest predictor of NRM in patients with lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, and acute myeloid leukemia in first remission (c-statistics 0.66, 064, and 0.59, respectively). We confirm the clinical utility of the HCT-CI score that could also identify patients at low NRM risk possibly benefiting from an HSCT-based treatment strategy.

Combined modality therapy versus chemotherapy alone as an induction regimen for primary central nervous system lymphoma: a decision analysis.

In immunocompetent patients with primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma, combined modality therapy (CMT) using high-dose methotrexate and whole brain radiotherapy has improved response rates compared to chemotherapy alone. The trade-off is delayed and potentially devastating treatment-related neurotoxicity. A Markov decision-analytic model compared CMT to chemotherapy alone in patients with primary CNS lymphoma. Baseline probabilities were derived from a systematic literature review. Outcomes were life expectancy and quality-adjusted life expectancy. Sensitivity analyses were performed. The life expectancy was 2·69 years for CMT and 2·77 years for chemotherapy alone. The quality-adjusted life expectancies for the two strategies were 1·70 and 1·67 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) respectively. In younger patients <60 years of age, CMT yielded a quality-adjusted life expectancy of 2·71 QALYs, compared to 2·09 QALYs for chemotherapy alone, yielding an expected benefit with CMT of 0·62 QALYs or 7·4 quality-adjusted months. There was no difference between the strategies in the older group. The model was robust to key variables for the younger group. The preferred induction strategy for younger patients appears to be CMT, maximizing life expectancy, and QALYs. This analysis confirms that the preferred strategy for older patients is chemotherapy alone.

[State of medical care of patients with hematological malignancies in Kyïv].

In the article data are presented about morbidity by oncogematologic pathology - one of the most meaningful of social-economic problems. In Ukraine annually diagnose the to 8 thousand new cases of haemoblastosis. Indexes of morbidity on a 100 thousand population are 5,2; at illness of Hodgkin's lymphoma - 2,5, at plural myeloma - 1,6; at leukemia - 8,1. Morbidity by haematological pathology in Kyiv long time remains high: annually 250 expose patients with malignant lymphnoma, 57 - with myeloma, 190 - with leukemia, from them at 55 % is a sharp form and at 40 % - chronic. The anxiety of doctors causes circumstance that the special treatment is overcome 58,1 % patients by leukemia, 68,6 % - plural myeloma and 77,8 % patients with malignant lymphoma. World experience shows that application of complex methods of therapy allows to prolong life-span 80-90 % patients with Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma on 10, and at 95 % patients by a lymphogranulomatosis - to attain nonrecurrence survival to 5 years.

Role of routine imaging in lymphoma.

Patients with lymphoma commonly undergo routine imaging studies after treatment completion, yet the appropriate interval, duration, and modality of follow-up, and the overall efficacy of various approaches is unclear. Existing guidelines are vague and not evidence-based, and consequently, practice patterns are varied. Most surveillance approaches in lymphoma have focused on early detection of recurrence, with the hope of prolonged survival and potential cure. Concerns regarding the prognostic value of frequent scanning, cost-effectiveness, and long-term risks associated with prolonged radiation exposure have led many to question the role of routine imaging in this setting. Given the multiple lymphoma subtypes and the clinical heterogeneity of these entities, a single approach to follow-up may not be reasonable. Much of the available literature focuses on Hodgkin lymphoma, and may not be generalizable. Retrospective series show that most relapses are detected by signs and symptoms regardless of the imaging schedule. In summary, clinicians are still left with "expert opinion" to guide them. This article examines the available data outlining the role of surveillance imaging in lymphoma.