title: Treatment of elderly Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with a novel 5-drug regimen (ODBEP): a phase II study.
abstract: Elderly patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) have a worse outcome than young patients. In an effort to improve the outcome in elderly HL patients, we used a 5-drug chemotherapy regimen called ODBEP (vincristine, doxorubicin, bleomycin, etoposide, prednisone) from 1986-1995. We hoped that by increasing dose intensity through delivery of treatment without delays, and increasing the number of non-cross-resistant chemotherapeutic drugs that were selected for minimal cumulative myelotoxicity, we might improve the cure rate in elderly patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Comparison was made with a similar group of patients treated from 1981-1986 with MOPP/ABV-variant chemotherapy. Ninety-nine patients who were 65 years or older, were diagnosed with HL from 1981-1995. Seventy-one patients had advanced disease and 55 of this group were treated with curative intent using multi-agent chemotherapy (ODBEP = 38; MOPP/ABV-variant = 17). ODBEP and MOPP/ABV-type treatment gave a median survival of 43 and 39 months, with 5-year overall survival (OS) of 42 and 32%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in OS or disease specific survival between the treatments. Both treatments were well tolerated, but ODBEP was less myelotoxic. ODBEP patients had a relative risk of 0.47 of developing febrile neutropenia compared to the MOPP/ABV-variant patients. In conclusion, treatment of elderly Hodgkin's lymphoma patients with ODBEP resulted in a similar OS and disease-specific survival compared to those treated with MOPP/ABV type chemotherapy, but appeared to be less toxic.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Agency and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Island Centre, Victoria, Canada.
authors.forename: Nicol
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Macpherson
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Klasa
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gascoyne
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: O'Reilly
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Voss
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Connors
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D001761:Bleomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D001761:Bleomycin; D014750:Vincristine; D005047:Etoposide; D004317:Doxorubicin; D011241:Prednisone