Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Pediatric Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: a Single-Center Experience From Southern Turkey

Purpose: Non‑Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) accounts for 8‑10% of all childhood cancers. In this study, we aimed to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of pediatric NHL patients treated at a tertiary center. Methods: The oncologic records of the patients diagnosed and followed up as NHL between 2013 and 2023 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: A total of 36 patients were enrolled in this study. The most common pathologic subtype was lymphoblastic lymphoma (LL) (n=21, 58.3%) followed by Burkitt lymphoma (BL) (n=10, 27.8%), diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (DLBCL) (11.1%, n=4), and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) (2.8%, n=1). Overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) were significantly longer in patients without bone marrow (BM) involvement (p=0.001 and p=0.02, respectively). EFS was significantly longer in patients without central nervous system (CNS) involvement (p=0.038). OS and EFS did not differ significantly according to NHL subtypes (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in OS according to age groups (p=0.7). Conclusion: The OS with NHL has significantly improved. With the development of effective treatment regimens based on various pathologic subtypes, the result of pediatric NHL has significantly improved in recent years. The survival rates have reached >90%.