Treatments for childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma

The following are treatment options for childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. The healthcare team will suggest treatments based on your child’s health and specific information about the lymphoma. Treatments are often based on the stage or risk group.

Treatments for newly diagnosed childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma

The main treatment for newly diagnosed childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma is chemotherapy along with targeted therapy.

Chemotherapy and targeted therapy

Chemotherapy is the main treatment for childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. Chemotherapy is given along with targeted therapy.

Chemotherapy drugs are given in different combinations based on different treatment plans (protocols). The most common drug combination is:

  • etoposide (Vepesid)
  • prednisone
  • vincristine (Oncovin)
  • cyclophosphamide (Procytox)
  • doxorubicin (Adriamycin)
  • rituximab (Rituxan)

Treatments for recurrent childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma

Radiation therapy may be used in recurrent (relapsed) childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma if there is a localized tumour in the mediastinum and if radiation therapy was not used as part of the first treatment course.

For widespread relapsed disease, high-dose chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant is often used.

Immunotherapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) may be used to treat childhood primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma that is refractory (has not responded to treatment) or relapsed (has come back after treatment).

Clinical trials

Children with cancer may be treated in a clinical trial. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. Find out more about clinical trials.

Expert review and references

  • Allen CE, Kamdar KY, Bollard CM, Gross TG . Malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas in children. Pizzo PA & Poplack DG (eds.). Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2016: 23: 587-603.
  • American Cancer Society. Treating Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Children. 2017.
  • Johnston JM. Pediatric Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment and Management. 2018.
  • National Cancer Institute. Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ®) Patient Version. 2018.
  • National Cancer Institute. Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ®) Health Professional Version. 2018.

Medical disclaimer

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