title: ESHAP salvage therapy for relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: The ESHAP regimen, a combination of the chemotherapeutic drugs etoposide, methylprednisolone (solumedrol), high-dose cytarabine (ara-C), and cisplatin, has been shown to be active against refractory or relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in therapeutic trials. We undertook this study to determine whether this regimen would be effective and tolerable in Korean patients. A total of 40 patients with refractory or relapsed NHL (8 indolent and 32 aggressive) were enrolled in this study. The overall response rate was 70% (95% confidence interval; 59.8-89.7%); 22.5% of patients achieved a complete response and 47.5% a partial response. The median survival duration was 12 months (95% confidence interval; 5.9-18.1 months) and the median duration of progression-free survival was 9 months (95% confidence interval; 1.1-16.9 months). The median survival duration of patients with relapsed NHL was longer than that of patients with refractory lymphoma (15 months vs 4 months, p=0.02). Myelosuppression was the most frequent complication and treatment-related mortality was noted in two patients. These results suggest that the ESHAP regimen is effective in patients with relapsed NHL who have a sensitive disease. The role of ESHAP chemotherapy in discriminating patients who are more likely to benefit from a subsequent transplant should be evaluated in the future.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hemato-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chul Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Chang Won
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Paek
authors.forename: Jae Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Byung Soo
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sang Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Yeul Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jun Suk
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008775:Methylprednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine; D005047:Etoposide; D002945:Cisplatin; D008775:Methylprednisolone