A retrospective study of 75 laparotomy-studied Stage I and II patients with diffuse large cell (histiocytic) lymphoma was conducted to determine the relative contributions of laparotomy, radiotherapy, and combination chemotherapy to their management. The treatment programs were radiotherapy alone, radiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, and alternating chemotherapy-radiotherapy. Treatment selection was based on disease presentation, with limited therapy used for favorable patterns and intensive therapy used in prognostically unfavorable settings. Disease-free survival was best in those treated with initial chemotherapy, even though these patients comprised the least favorable prognostic group. A select subset of patients, those with extranodal head and neck disease, obtained good results with radiotherapy alone, but for other presentations this was not a successful approach. Differences in results for the three treatment programs are discussed in relation to future treatment decisions.

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