Many of the improvements in childhood cancer survival have been made using combinations of known and/or new agents that have attempted to improve the best available, accepted therapy. Clinical trials in pediatrics are designed to compare potentially better therapy with therapy that is currently accepted as standard. This comparison may be done in a randomized study of two treatment arms or by evaluating a single new treatment and comparing the results with those previously obtained with standard therapy.

All children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) should be considered for entry into a clinical trial. Treatment planning by a multidisciplinary team of cancer specialists with experience treating tumors of childhood is strongly recommended to determine, coordinate, and implement treatment to achieve optimal survival. Children with NHL should be referred for treatment by a multidisciplinary team of pediatric oncologists at an institution with experience in treating pediatric cancers. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

NHL in children is generally considered to be widely disseminated from the outset, even when apparently localized; as a result, combination chemotherapy is recommended for most patients.[ 1] There are two potentially life-threatening clinical situations that are often seen in children with NHL: (1) superior vena cava syndrome (or mediastinal tumor with airway obstruction), and (2) tumor lysis syndrome, most often seen in lymphoblastic and Burkitt or Burkitt-like NHL. These emergent situations should be anticipated in children with NHL and addressed immediately.

Patients with large mediastinal masses are at risk of cardiac or respiratory arrest during general anesthesia or heavy sedation.[ 2] Due to the risks of general anesthesia or heavy sedation, a careful physiologic and radiographic evaluation of the patient should be carried out and the least invasive procedure should be used to establish the diagnosis of lymphoma.[ 3, 4] Bone marrow aspirate and biopsy should always be performed early in the work up of these patients. If a pleural effusion is present, a cytologic diagnosis is frequently possible using thoracentesis. In those children who present with peripheral adenopathy, a lymph node biopsy under local anesthesia and in an upright position may be possible.[ 5] In situations in which the above diagnostic procedures are not fruitful, consideration of a computed tomography-guided core needle biopsy should be contemplated. This procedure can frequently be carried out using light sedation and local anesthesia before proceeding to more invasive procedures. Mediastinoscopy, anterior mediastinotomy, or thoracoscopy are the procedures of choice when other diagnostic modalities fail to establish the diagnosis. A formal thoracotomy is rarely if ever indicated for the diagnosis or treatment of childhood lymphoma. Occasionally it will not be possible to perform a diagnostic operative procedure because of the risk of general anesthesia or heavy sedation. In these situations, preoperative treatment with steroids or localized radiation therapy should be considered. Since preoperative treatment may affect the ability to obtain an accurate tissue diagnosis, a diagnostic biopsy should be obtained as soon as the risk of general anesthesia or heavy sedation is thought to be alleviated.