ESHAP salvage therapy for relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
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.
Choi
Chul Won
CW
Division of Hemato-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
Paek
Chang Won
CW
Seo
Jae Hong
JH
Kim
Byung Soo
BS
Shin
Sang Won
SW
Kim
Yeul Hong
YH
Kim
Jun Suk
JS
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
D003561:Cytarabine; D005047:Etoposide; D002945:Cisplatin; D008775:Methylprednisolone