“Essential Role of Radiotherapy in NK/T-Cell lymphoma: Evidence from a Single-Center Study in Mexico”

Radiotherapy is the cornerstone of ENKTL, significantly improving survival in this disease. A Mexican cohort reveals unique clinical and outcome differences compared with Asian and global reports. Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL) is a rare, aggressive lymphoma strongly associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), more prevalent in Asian and Latin American populations. Despite therapeutic advances, overall survival (OS) remains poor, especially where access to radiotherapy (RT) is limited. We conducted a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with ENKTL at the General Hospital of Mexico between 2016 and 2025. Survival was estimated with Kaplan–Meier curves and compared using the log-rank test; prognostic factors were evaluated by multivariate Cox regression. Thirty patients were included. Median age at diagnosis was 36 years (range 23–69), with a male predominance (56.7%). The nasal region was the most frequent site (86.7%), and 66.7% had early-stage disease (I–II). The most common frontline regimen was SMILE (63.3%), achieving complete remission (CR) in 36.7%. At 5 years, OS was 77.5%. Importantly, RT was significantly associated with improved outcomes regardless of PINK risk or stage. Our findings highlight RT as a decisive factor for survival in ENKTL, underscoring the need to guarantee timely access to RT in resource-limited settings.