%0 Journal Article
%T Non-Hodgkin lymphoma presenting with spinal cord compression: A population-based analysis of the NHL-BFM study group.
%A Riquelme A
%A Werner J
%A Zimmermann M
%A von Mersi H
%A Kabíčková E
%A Ceppi F
%A Foerster J
%A Finger J
%A Müller S
%A Attarbaschi A
%A Burkhardt B
%A Woessmann W
%J Pediatr Blood Cancer
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2024 Jul 3
%M 38961598
%F 3.838
%R 10.1002/pbc.31182
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>Spinal cord compression is a rare presentation of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in children. We aimed to describe the prevalence, histological subtypes, clinical presentation, therapy, and outcome of those children in a population-based cohort. The chemotherapy regimen remained comparable over time.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>We retrospectively identified all children and adolescents with paresis as initial manifestations of the NHL between January 1990 and December 2020 from the NHL-BFM database. Characteristics, therapy, and outcome data were gathered from the database and patient files.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Fifty-seven of 4779 children (1.2%) presented with initial paresis due to spinal cord compression. The median age was 10.3 years (range, 3.1-18.0 years), and 33% were female. Initial symptoms were paresis/weakness (n = 50, 88%), back pain (n = 33, 58%), paresthesia (n = 23, 40%), and bladder dysfunction and/or constipation (n = 22, 39%), persisting for a median of 14 days before diagnosis. Subtype distribution was mature B-NHL (n = 41, 72%), precursor B-lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) (n = 12, 21%), anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) (n = 3, 5%), and T-LBL (n = 1, 2%). Initial emergency therapy included surgery (70%) and/or chemotherapy/steroids (63%). Five-year event-free survival and overall survival (80% ± 5% and 82% ± 5%, respectively) were comparable with all other NHL patients. Neurological symptoms persisted in approximately one-third of surviving patients at the last follow-up.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>1.2% of pediatric NHL patients presented with paresis from spinal cord compression mainly due to B-cell lymphomas. Neurological sequelae were observed in one-third of surviving patients.