Autotransplantation for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's disease: long-term follow-up and analysis of prognostic factors.
Seventy consecutive patients with refractory or relapsed Hodgkin's disease who received high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell rescue were analyzed to identify clinically relevant predictors of long-term event-free survival. High-dose therapy consisted primarily of carmustine (BCNU), etoposide, cytarabine and cyclophosphamide (BEAC). The 5-year Kaplan-Meier event-free survival (EFS) for the entire cohort was 32% (95% confidence interval; 18-45%) with a median follow-up of 3.6 years (range 7 months-7.6 years). The most significant predictor of improved survival was the presence of minimal disease (defined as all areas < or =2 cm) at the time of transplant: the 5 years EFS was 46 vs 10% for patients with bulky disease (P = 0.0002). Other independent predictors identified by step-wise regression analysis included the presence of non-refractory disease and the administration of post-transplant involved-field radiotherapy (XRT). Treatment-related mortality occurred in 13 of 70 patients: nine patients (13%) died within the first 100 days, mainly from cardiopulmonary toxicity. However, only one of 24 patients (4%) transplanted during the last 4.5 years died from early treatment-related complications. While high-dose therapy followed by autotransplantation led to long-term EFS of 50% for patients with favorable prognostic factors, a substantial proportion of patients relapsed, indicating that new therapeutic strategies are needed.
Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY, USA.
J E
JE
Lancet
A P
AP
Rapoport
R
R
Brasacchio
S
S
Eberly
R F
RF
Raubertas
T
T
Linder
A
A
Muhs
R E
RE
Duerst
C N
CN
Abboud
C H
CH
Packman
J F
JF
DiPersio
L S
LS
Constine
J M
JM
Rowe
J L
JL
Liesveld
D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002330:Carmustine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005047:Etoposide / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D012008:Recurrence; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
D003561:Cytarabine; D005047:Etoposide; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D002330:Carmustine