Outcomes of patients with Burkitt lymphoma older than age 40 treated with intensive chemotherapeutic regimens.

Burkitt lymphoma is a highly curable disorder when treated with modern intensive chemotherapy regimens. The majority of adult patients with Burkitt lymphoma in the United States are over age 40 years. Older patients have historically been underrepresented in published clinical trials of modern intensive therapy, and the outcome of these patients has not been systematically reported.

Treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in children and adults: Lessons from Africa.

Modern chemotherapy for childhood Burkitt lymphoma has its origins in Africa, where treatment evolved from one or two doses of single agents, which were curative in some patients, to combinations of non-cross-resistant drugs. Subsequently, in Europe and the United States, high-dose methotrexate, high-dose cytarabine, etoposide, and ifosfamide were found to be active in children with recurrent disease and were incorporated into primary therapy for patients with high-risk disease. These third-generation protocols produce overall cure rates around 90%.