title: FLU-ID (fludarabine and idarubicin) regimen as salvage therapy in pretreated low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: Fludarabine (FLU) is a new antimetabolite chemotherapeutic agent with promising activity in lymphoproliferative disorders and, in particular, in low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LG-NHL). Recently, a few reports have described interesting results using FLU in polychemotherapy regimens. In order to evaluate FLU in combination with other antineoplastic agents, we used a combination of FLU and idarubicin, called the FLU-ID regimen, to treat 10 patients with recurrent LG-NHL. The FLU-ID regimen was as follows: FLU 25 mg/sqm i.v. on days 1 to 3 and idarubicin 12 mg/sqm i.v. on day 1. Of the 10 patients, 2 (20%) achieved complete response (CR), 5 (50%) partial response, and the remaining 3 showed no benefit from the treatment. The 2 CR patients are still in remission after 6 and 8 months, respectively. The median duration of overall survival of all patients was 8 months. The major toxic effects observed were neutropenia (40%) and infections and/or febrile episodes (15%); no fatalities due to drug side effects occurred. These results indicate the efficacy of the FLU-ID regimen in inducing a good remission rate with moderate side effects in recurrent LG-NHL.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hematology Seràgnoli, University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Zinzani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bendandi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gherlinzoni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Merla
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gozzetti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015255:Idarubicin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016879:Salvage Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014740:Vidarabine; C024352:fludarabine; D015255:Idarubicin