Dr. Advani Discusses Outcomes in ALCL

Ranjana Advani, MD, Professor of Medicine and Oncology, Stanford University, discusses outcomes for patients with anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL).

Though the prognosis for patients with ALK-positive ALCL is better than those with ALK-negative ALCL, the International Prognostic Index (IPI) remains an important factor. Patients with high IPI will not do as well as patients with low IPI, regardless of whether they are ALK-positive or ALK-negative. In fact, Advani says, all ALCL patients, treated with all regimens (CHOP chemotherapy and etoposide-containing chemotherapy) do better than other T-cell lymphoma patients. Patients treated with contemporary chemotherapy regimens containing etoposide such as CHOE, EPOCH, and Japanese regimen all demonstrate the highest outcomes, some as high as 70%, Advani says. Even in transplant studies, ALCL presents better outcomes. This begs the question as to whether the disease type or the treatment regimens trigger such robust results.