• DOI:10.3109/10428190903186510
• Corpus ID: 11004437

Good things come in small packages: low-dose radiation as palliation for indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas

@article{Martin2009GoodTC,
  title={Good things come in small packages: low-dose radiation as palliation for indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas},
  author={Neil E. Martin and Andrea K. Ng},
  journal={Leukemia \& Lymphoma},
  year={2009},
  volume={50},
  pages={1765 - 1772}
}

• N. Martin, A. Ng
• Published 1 November 2009
• Medicine
• Leukemia & Lymphoma

Numerous management options are available to patients with advanced-stage or relapsed/refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). These include observation in patients with low-volume disease, systemic therapy including radioimmunotherapy, and high-dose therapy with stem cell transplant. In selected patients with localized symptomatic disease, local radiation therapy to sites of involvement can offer effective palliation. However, systemic therapy and standard-dose radiation therapy can be associated with significant toxicities. Over the past 15 years, several groups have investigated the role of low-dose radiation therapy – typically 4 Gy in two fractions – to an involved-field as an option for palliation in patients with NHL. Overall response rates of more than 80% have been consistently reported with local control maintained for 2 years. In this review, we outline the clinical experience with this approach in NHL of various histologies.