Efficacy of the GMALL‐B‐ALL/NHL2002 protocol in Burkitt leukemia/lymphoma and aggressive non‐Hodgkin‐lymphomas with or without CNS involvement

Objectives The GMALL‐B‐ALL/NHL2002 protocol is effective in Burkitt lymphoma/leukemia (BL). Its role in other aggressive lymphomas and in patients with simultaneous central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral involvement is unclear. Methods This is a retrospective outcome analysis in 76 patients with BL (n = 26), B‐lymphoblastic lymphoma (B‐LBL; n = 3), diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL; n = 31), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL; n = 6), transformed B‐cell non‐Hodgkin lymphomas (tB‐NHL; n = 7), and T‐cell NHL (T‐NHL; n = 3) treated with the GMALL‐B‐ALL/NHL2002 protocol. Results 73.1% of scheduled chemotherapy cycles were administered. Treatment was discontinued in 38 patients (50.0%) due to progression (n = 14), toxicities (n = 11), scheduled treatment change (n = 6), and unknown reasons (n = 7). All BL/B‐LBL patients were treated first‐line, and at a median follow‐up of 124.7 months, median progression‐free survival was not reached. In DLBCL, median PFS was 68.4 months in first‐line treated patients and 3.7 months in relapsed/refractory patients. CNS involvement was present in 10 non‐BL/B‐LBL cases and did not have a negative impact on survival in first‐line treated patients but was fatal in all relapsed/refractory patients. Conclusion This study confirmed the activity of the GMALL‐B‐ALL/NHL2002 protocol in BL/B‐LBL. It was also effective in first‐line treated non‐BL/B‐LBL lymphomas with and without simultaneous CNS‐/peripheral involvement, but ineffective in relapsed/refractory disease.