Efficacy of fludarabine and mitoxantrone (FN) combination regimen in untreated indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
OBJECTIVE
In the last years, fludarabine (FLU) alone or in combination with other drugs has been reported to be effective in the treatment of previously treated low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (LG-NHL). The aim of this study was to define the therapeutic efficacy and toxicity of a combination of FLU and mitoxantrone (FN regimen) in untreated LG-NHL.


METHODS
We used a two-drug combination of FLU (25 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1 to 3) and mitoxantrone (10 mg/m2 i.v. on day 1) to treat 27 previously untreated patients with LG-NHL, Chemotherapy was repeated every four weeks for a total of six cycles. Among 27 patients, 17 (63%) were diagnosed with follicular, 6 (22%) with small lymphocytic, and 4 (15%) with immunocytoma subtypes.


RESULTS
Of the 27 patients, 18 (67%) achieved complete response (CR) and 6 (22%) partial response, while the remaining 3 (11%) showed no benefit from the treatment. Regarding histology, in the follicular subtype we observed an overall response rate of 94%, with a 76.5% CR rate. The estimated two-year relapse-free survival was 83%, and overall survival was 92%. Hematologic grade 3-4 toxicity was seen in only five (3.3%) patients; no opportunistic infections or deaths were associated with the administration of the FN regimen.


CONCLUSIONS
These preliminary data show that the FN regimen is a very active, well-tolerated combination chemotherapy for untreated patients with advanced LG-NHL.
Zinzani
P L
PL
Institute of Hematology and Medical Oncology Seràgnoli, University of Bologna, Italy. plzinzo@med.unibo.it
Magagnoli
M
M
Bendandi
M
M
Gherlinzoni
F
F
Orcioni
G F
GF
Cellini
C
C
Stefoni
V
V
Pileri
S A
SA
Tura
S
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; 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; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*
D008942:Mitoxantrone; D014740:Vidarabine; C024352:fludarabine