Ifosfamide, etoposide, cytarabine, and dexamethasone as salvage treatment followed by high-dose cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and etoposide with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for relapsed or refractory lymphomas.
High-dose chemotherapy (HD-CT) with autologous stem cell transplantation is considered to be the treatment of choice for relapsed high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) patients, but the optimal treatment has not yet been defined. We evaluated a salvage treatment regimen consisting of conventional cycles with ifosfamide, etoposide, cytarabine, and dexamethasone (IVAD) followed by two cycles of HD-CT consisting of cyclophosphamide, melphalan, and etoposide (CMV) with autologous stem cell support in patients with relapsed or refractory NHL (n = 59) and HL (n = 16). Response to IVAD was complete remission (CR) in 16 patients (21%), partial remission (PR) in 39 patients (52%), stable disease (SD) in 18 patients (24%), and progressive disease (PD) in two patients (2.7%). Of 70 patients treated with HD-CT, 41 patients (59%) showed a CR, 20 patients a PR (29%), eight patients a SD (11%), and one patient a PD (1.4%). The 5-yr overall survival for the entire group of patients was 29%, and for patients with NHL and HL 25%, and 38%, respectively. The respective event-free survival probabilities at 5 yr were 22%, 16%, and 31%. Seven treatment-related deaths due to septicemia (three), cardiac arrhythmia (one), pneumonia (one), pneumonitis (one), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (one) were observed. In multivariate analysis, an International Prognostic Index of > or = 2 and resistant disease to first-line chemotherapy were poor independent prognostic factors for the subgroup of patients with NHL. In conclusion, these results indicate that IVAD/CMV is feasible as a salvage therapy for lymphoma patients. This treatment is currently evaluated with the addition of rituximab.
Schütt
P
P
Department of Internal Medicine (Cancer Research), West German Cancer Center, University of Duisburg-Essen Medical School, Essen, Germany.
Passon
J
J
Ebeling
P
P
Welt
A
A
Müller
S
S
Metz
K
K
Moritz
T
T
Seeber
S
S
Nowrousian
M R
MR
D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001855:Bone Marrow Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007069:Ifosfamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008558:Melphalan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008875:Middle Aged; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced; D036102:Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D003561:Cytarabine; D005047:Etoposide; D003907:Dexamethasone; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D008558:Melphalan; D007069:Ifosfamide