title: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. A four-drug regimen suitable for elderly patients with advanced disease.
abstract: Twenty-eight patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas considered unsuitable for doxorubicin containing combination chemotherapy were given the four-drug combination chlorambucil, mitoxantrone, procarbazine and prednisolone every 3 weeks. The median age of the patients was 69 years and 15 had received prior treatment. Non-haematological toxicity was WHO grade I or II in all cases. Five patients had grade 4 neutropenia of which 3 were associated with fever and one was fatal. The complete response rate was 32% and the overall response rate 61%. The actuarial survival of the 17 responding patients at 12 months was 68%. This outpatient regimen produced good compliance among elderly patients, and modest toxicity with acceptable response rate and survival for the study population.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Research Campaign, University of Liverpool, England.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Watkin
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Green
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002699:Chlorambucil / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008942:Mitoxantrone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011344:Procarbazine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011379:Prognosis; D012074:Remission Induction; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D002699:Chlorambucil; D011344:Procarbazine; D011239:Prednisolone; D008942:Mitoxantrone