Recommendations for Radiotherapy Technique and Dose in Extra-nodal Lymphoma

Abstract

Extra-nodal sites may be involved in around 40% of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The general principles for target volume delineation in this setting are presented, together with specific examples. In general, the entire organ affected should be encompassed in the clinical target volume with an expansion of at least 10 mm, increased in some instances to account for patterns of potential lymphatic flow. Adjacent lymph nodes may be treated using standard techniques for nodal irradiation. Doses for extra-nodal lymphoma follow the same principles as nodal lymphoma, delivering 30 Gy in 15 fractions for Hodgkin and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 24 Gy in 12 fractions for indolent lymphomas, with the exception of certain palliative situations, mycosis fungoides, central nervous system lymphoma and natural killer/T-cell lymphoma.

Keywords: Extra-nodal; Hodgkin; lymphoma; non-Hodgkin; radiotherapy.