burkitt's lymphoma in children | Treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in children

Treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in children




In the presence of Burkitt lymphoma in the child, the following treatment options may be used. The care team will suggest treatments based on your child's needs and work with you to develop a treatment plan. Treatments are often based on the stage of cancer or the risk category.

First-line treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in children
First-line treatment is the first or most commonly used treatment. The following treatments may be administered as a first-line treatment for Burkitt lymphoma in children.

Surgery
In general, a surgeon practises a surgical (open) biopsy to establish the correct diagnosis. In rare cases, if lymphoma reaches a single area of the body, such as the abdomen, surgery can be performed to remove the lymphoma before administering chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the primary treatment of Burkitt lymphoma in children. The duration of chemotherapy depends on the risk category and the treatment Plan (protocol).

Chemotherapeutic agents are administered by different associations according to different treatment plans. The following chemotherapeutic agents are most commonly administered according to different associations for Burkett lymphoma:

Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Procytox)
Vincristine (Oncovin)
Prednisone
Cytarabine (Cytosar, Ara-C)
Etoposide (Vepesid, VP-16)
Methotrexate
Prednisolone
Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
Hydrocortisone
Dexamethasone (Decadron, Dexasone)
Daunorubicin (Cérubidine, Daunomycin)
L-Asparaginase (Kidrolase)
Mercaptopurine (Purinéthol, 6-MP)
Thioguanine (Lanvis, 6-TG)
Intrathecal chemotherapy is also administered to prevent the NHL from propagating to the central nervous system (CNS) or to treat an NHL that has spread to the CNS. This means that the medications are administered directly into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) around the brain and spinal cord. Intrathecal chemotherapy may include the administration of 1 to 3 of the following chemotherapeutic agents:

Methotrexate
Hydrocortisone
Cytarabine
Targeted treatment
Children who have recently been diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma can be administered targeted treatment with rituximab, in combination with chemotherapy, in clinical trials.

Burkitt Recurrent lymphoma in children
Treatment of Burkitt recurrent lymphoma in children may involve more intensive chemotherapy, with or without targeted treatment, or a allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplant.

The following chemotherapeutic associations are administered to treat Burkitt recurrent lymphoma in children:

Dexamethasone, Etoposide, cisplatin (Platinol AQ), Cytarabine and Asparaginase
Ifosfamide (Ifex), carboplatin (flattened, flattened AQ), etoposide and rituximab (Rituxan)
Clinical trials
Many children with Burkitt lymphoma are treated as part of a clinical trial designed according to the risk category or stage of their illness. In the clinical trial protocol, or plan, treatments are reported (such as chemotherapy or targeted treatment) as well as the dosages and chemotherapeutic agents to be administered. Learn more about clinical trials