Childhood, adolescent and young adult non‐Hodgkin lymphoma: state of the science

Abstract

The 5th International Symposium on Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult (CAYA) Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) was held in Varese, Italy, from 21-25 October 2015. This review represents a summary of the scientific sessions of this international symposium including childhood, adolescent and young adult (AYA) NHL in countries with limited socio-economic resources, AYA NHL, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, B-cell NHL, lymphoblastic lymphoma, T/natural killer cell NHL and immunological therapies in NHL. Most importantly, the new International Paediatric NHL Staging System (IPNHLSS) and International Paediatric NHL Response Criteria (IPNHLRC) were introduced during the symposium. The symposium brought together a multinational and multidisciplinary group of clinicians and basic scientists focused in this field of haematological malignancies.

NHL in adolescents and young adults: A unique population

“…NHL accounts for approximately 8% of all reported cancers in AYAs with a slight predominance in males (Supplementary Figures S1 and S2). Diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents the most common histological subtype in AYAs, followed by anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Additionally, several rare lymphomas including primary mediastinal large B‐cell lymphoma (PMBL) and natural killer (NK)/T‐cell lymphoma have their greatest incidence in the AYA age group (Fig.…”

“…Additionally, several rare lymphomas including primary mediastinal large B‐cell lymphoma (PMBL) and natural killer (NK)/T‐cell lymphoma have their greatest incidence in the AYA age group (Fig. ) . The histological subtype of NHL in AYAs with the greatest difference in race/ethnicity distribution is NK/T‐cell lymphomas, which occur most often in Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders (Supplementary Figure S3).…”

“…The histological subtype of NHL in AYAs with the greatest difference in race/ethnicity distribution is NK/T‐cell lymphomas, which occur most often in Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders (Supplementary Figure S3). Five‐year survival rates differ between histological subtypes in AYA patients with NHL, with mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas having the highest survival rate and NK/T NHL having the lowest (Fig. ) …”

“… Five‐year survival rates differ between histological subtypes in AYA patients with NHL, with mucosa‐associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas having the highest survival rate and NK/T NHL having the lowest (Fig. ) …”

“…Distinctive clinical, morphologic, and genomic features identify DLBCL, Burkitt lymphoma (BL), PMBL, and other less common B‐NHLs including marginal zone lymphoma, rare variants of DLBCL, and immunodeficiency associated B‐NHL. Whereas BL accounts for the majority of NHL in children less than 15 years (38%), DLBCL predominates in AYAs (55–70%) and increases in incidence with age …”