Relapsed ALCL are highly chemosensitive but over 40% of the patients experience several relapses. Prolonged conventional chemotherapy based on vinblastine might, in some cases, be as efficient as short intensive treatment with ABMT.

Background-Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) makes up 10-20% of pediatric nonHodgkin lymphoma, and these patients have a significantly better prognosis than adults with DLBCL. The difference in prognosis may be related to clinical, phenotypic, and/or biological differences between adult and pediatric DLBCL. In adult DLBCL, the germinal center (GC) phenotype is associated with a better prognosis than the activated B-cell (ABC) phenotype. However, a high proliferative index and expression of Bcl2 and c-Myc protein have all been associated with worse outcomes. While multiple studies have addressed the phenotype and expression patterns of adult DLBCL, relatively little is known about these biological variables in pediatric DLBCL. The goal of this study was to investigate the proliferative index, the relative frequencies of the GC and non-GC subtypes, and the expression of Bcl2 and c-Myc protein in a cohort of children with DLBCL treated in a uniform manner.

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OS was satisfactory even when local treatment was not aggressive, although the prognosis was poor for infants with alveolar RMS or metastatic tumors. Chemotherapy toxicity was manageable with appropriate dose modification.