Patient characteristics in the matched data set
| . | BV cohort (n = 240) . | Chemotherapy cohort (n = 240) . | P value . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female sex | 132 (55%) | 130 (54%) | .855 |
| Age, y, median (range) | 30 (11-66) | 33 (18-72) | .118 |
| Primary refractory | 78 (32%) | 78 (32%) | 1.000 |
| B symptoms | 70 (29%) | 42 (23%) | .163 |
| Unknown | 1 | 59 | |
| Stage | |||
| I | 16 (8%) | 23 (10%) | .627 |
| II | 77 (38%) | 84 (35%) | .631 |
| II or III∗ | 0 (0%) | 24 (10%) | NA |
| III | 37 (18%) | 27 (11%) | .112 |
| IV | 72 (36%) | 79 (33%) | .612 |
| Unknown | 38 | 3 | |
| Extranodal disease | 102 (42%) | 94 (39%) | .458 |
| Bulky disease† | 89 (41%) | 71 (39%) | .689 |
| Unknown | 24 | 59 | |
| Primary treatment with escBEACOPP | 14 (8%) | 17 (7%) | .985 |
| Early relapse <1 year | 129 (65%) | 162 (68%) | .480 |
| Unknown | 42 | 3 | |
| WHO PS | |||
| 0 | 98 (66%) | 158 (70%) | .505 |
| 1 | 49 (33%) | 48 (21%) | 1.000 |
| 2 | 2 (1%) | 21 (9%) | .0036 |
| Unknown | 91 | 13 | |
| Response to primary treatment = PD | 14 (7%) | 14 (7%) | .414 |
| Unknown | 38 | 41 |
| . | BV cohort (n = 240) . | Chemotherapy cohort (n = 240) . | P value . |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female sex | 132 (55%) | 130 (54%) | .855 |
| Age, y, median (range) | 30 (11-66) | 33 (18-72) | .118 |
| Primary refractory | 78 (32%) | 78 (32%) | 1.000 |
| B symptoms | 70 (29%) | 42 (23%) | .163 |
| Unknown | 1 | 59 | |
| Stage | |||
| I | 16 (8%) | 23 (10%) | .627 |
| II | 77 (38%) | 84 (35%) | .631 |
| II or III∗ | 0 (0%) | 24 (10%) | NA |
| III | 37 (18%) | 27 (11%) | .112 |
| IV | 72 (36%) | 79 (33%) | .612 |
| Unknown | 38 | 3 | |
| Extranodal disease | 102 (42%) | 94 (39%) | .458 |
| Bulky disease† | 89 (41%) | 71 (39%) | .689 |
| Unknown | 24 | 59 | |
| Primary treatment with escBEACOPP | 14 (8%) | 17 (7%) | .985 |
| Early relapse <1 year | 129 (65%) | 162 (68%) | .480 |
| Unknown | 42 | 3 | |
| WHO PS | |||
| 0 | 98 (66%) | 158 (70%) | .505 |
| 1 | 49 (33%) | 48 (21%) | 1.000 |
| 2 | 2 (1%) | 21 (9%) | .0036 |
| Unknown | 91 | 13 | |
| Response to primary treatment = PD | 14 (7%) | 14 (7%) | .414 |
| Unknown | 38 | 41 |
NA, not applicable; WHO PS, World Health Organization performance status.
For 24 patients in the chemotherapy cohort from the trial by Santoro et al, stage at relapse was not recorded but stage I and IV were deducted from the amount of involved lymph node sites, extranodal sites, and bone marrow involvement. It was not possible to distinguish between stage II and III disease because no data were available on the spatial distribution of nodal sites (ie, infradiaphragmatic and/or supradiaphragmatic).
Bulky disease was defined as a single tumor bulk larger than 5 cm.