The "sandwich" protocol, was first proposed by us and comprised of l-asparaginase, vincristine, and prednisone chemotherapy with radiotherapy, results in 2-year overall survival and progression-free survival rates that surpass traditional therapies for patients with newly diagnosed, stage IE-IIE, nasal type, extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma. The results had been published by cancer. These patients were followed up over a median period of 67 months, for which updates and the results of prognostic factors analyses are presented. The 5-year overall survival and progress-free survival rates were both 64%. The highest rates of death occurred during the first 6 months, and between the second and third year after enrollment. The initial therapeutic response (odds ratio = 5.83; P = 0.001) and B symptoms (odds ratio = 6.13; P = 0.043) were significant prognostic factors for overall survival. However, the international prognostic index was not significant for progress-free survival and overall survival. There were no severe long-term side effects. These results indicate that the "sandwich" protocol may benefit the long-term survival of patients with newly diagnosed stage IE-IIE, nasal type, extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma. However, additional studies with larger samples are required to confirm these results. This study is registered at www.Chictr.org (ChicTR-TNC-09000394).
Keywords: Chemoradiotherapy; extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma; l-asparaginase prednisone; long-term survival; prognostic factors; vincristine.
© 2015 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.