Primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma in pregnant women

AIM. To elaborate a management tactic for pregnant women with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMLBL) and to assess the toxicity of its treatment to the mother and fetus. MATERIALS AND METHODS. In 2004 to 2014, the Hematology Research Center, Ministry of Health of Russia, treated 94 patients with mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, 7 (7.4%) of them developed the disease during pregnancy. Induction therapy was performed according to the VACOP-B or R-EPOCH program. For consolidation, polychemotherapy (PCT) was made after 3-4 weeks postpartum in accordance with the R+Dexa-BEAM program, followed by radiotherapy (RT) applied to a residual mediastinal mass in a total focal dose of 36 Gy. To assess the nature of the residual mass, positron emission tomography was carried out 1 month following the induction and consolidation cycles of PCT. RESULTS. PCT was performed in 5 and 2 of the 7 patients diagnosed with PMLBCL in the second and third trimesters according to the VACOP-B and R-EPOCH programs, respectively; for consolidation, PCT was done using the R+Dexa-BEAM regimen in 7 patients: 10 men and 29 women whose ages were 18 to 60 years (median age 30 years); in 5 of the 7 patients, RT was applied to the residual mediastinal region in a total focal dose of 36 Gy. After induction treatment, 4 of 5 the patients in the VACOP-B group achieved partial remission; one of the 5 patients was stated to have disease progression. In the R-EPOCH group, 2 of the 2 patients achieved partial remission. After performing the treatment protocol, an early recurrence was recorded in 1 of the 5 cases in the VACOP-B/Dexa-BEAM/RT group. Effective autologous stem cell transplantation was carried out in patients with disease progression and early recurrence. Seven children (3 boys and 4 girls) were born. Their median body weight was 2182 g (1700 to 3600 g); the median height was 47 cm (40 to 53 cm). Two neonatal infants born to women who had received CT using the R-EPOCH regimen were diagnosed as having intrauterine pneumonia resulting from respiratory distress syndrome, which might be associated with fetal prematurity and the use of rituximab. One baby born to a patient who had been included in the VACOP-B treatment protocol was stated to have superior vena cava at birth. The median follow-up of the patients and born infants was 35 months (15 to 64 months). CONCLUSION. Due to the elaborated algorithm for the treatment and management of pregnant women, all the patients are alive without tumor signs and their babies are healthy without signs of development defects and retardation.

primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, pregnancy, polychemotherapy, R-EPOCH, VACOP-B, Dexa-BEAM, R-EPOCH, VACOP-B, Dexa-BEAM