Pilot study of modified version of CHOP plus radiotherapy for early-stage aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a modified version of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone (pirarubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone [THP-COP]) plus radiotherapy for early-stage aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the head and neck.


METHODS
Between December 1993 and December 1999, 41 patients with early-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with intermediate-grade histologic features were enrolled in our study. The mean patient age was 51 years. Of the 41 patients, 27 had Stage I and 14 Stage II disease. The primary site was Waldeyer's ring, a neck node, or an extranodal site in 14, 11, and 16 patients, respectively. The immunophenotype was B cell in 29 and T cell in 12 patients. All patients were in the low-risk category according to the International Prognostic Index. Chemotherapy consisted of 40 mg/m(2) i.v. pirarubicin (THP-Adriamycin), 750 mg/m(2) i.v. cyclophosphamide, and 1.0 mg/m(2) i.v. vincristine, on Day 1 and 40 mg/m(2) p.o. prednisone on Days 1-5. The combination chemotherapy was given twice at a 14-day interval. Radiotherapy was given to involved areas at a fraction size of 2.0-2.5 Gy up to a total of 40 Gy within 4-5 weeks. The mean follow-up period was 63 months.


RESULTS
The 5-year overall survival rate was 89%. The 5-year cause-specific survival and progression-free survival rate was 90% and 81%, respectively. The 5-year progression-free survival rate for patients with Waldeyer's ring primaries was 93%. Patients with tumor <5 cm in size had greater 5-year progression-free survival than those with tumor >5 cm in size (85% vs. 33%, p <0.05, log-rank test). Grade 4 neutropenia was seen in 12% of patients; however, 93% of patients (38 of 41) received chemotherapy as scheduled with the support of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.


CONCLUSIONS
Biweekly THP-COP plus radiotherapy is feasible and effective for Stage I-II low-risk non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Department of Radiology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Kita-15, Nishi-7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8648, Japan. trout@radi.med.hokudai.ac.jp
Takeshi
T
Nishioka
Kazuhiko
K
Tsuchiya
Seiko
S
Nishioka
Toshihiro
T
Kitahara
Keiichi
K
Ohmori
Akihiro
A
Homma
Hidefumi
H
Aoyma
Masanobu
M
Shindoh
Hiroki
H
Shirato
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012008:Recurrence; D015996:Survival Rate; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage
D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone