Treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in equatorial Africa using a simple three-drug combination followed by a salvage regimen for patients with persistent or recurrent disease.

Prior to the introduction of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR) protocol INCTR 03-06, survival of patients with Burkitt lymphoma at four tertiary care centres in equatorial Africa was probably no more than 10-20%. The results reported here for 356 patients have demonstrated marked improvement in survival through the use of a uniform treatment protocol consisting of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, vincristine, and intrathecal therapy, and the introduction of non-cross resistant second-line (salvage) therapy, consisting of ifosfamide, mesna, etoposide and cytarabine, when patients failed to achieve a complete response to first-line therapy or relapsed early. Overall survival rates of 67% and 62% were observed at 1 and 2 years (relapse is rare after 1 year of remission).

Lymphomas in sub-Saharan Africa--what can we learn and how can we help in improving diagnosis, managing patients and fostering translational research?

Approximately 30 000 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) occur in the equatorial belt of Africa each year. Apart from the fact that Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is very common among children and adolescents in Africa and that an epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is currently ongoing in this part of the world, very little is known about lymphomas in Africa. This review provides information regarding the current infrastructure for diagnostics in sub-Saharan Africa.

Pattern of relapse in childhood ALL: challenges and lessons from a uniform treatment protocol.

This retrospective analysis of 254 children less than 15 years of age treated with MCP-841 protocol from June 1992 to June 2002 was undertaken to identify the pattern of relapse and determine management lacunae. Two hundred twenty-three (87.8%) children achieved a complete remission of whom 40 (17.