Abstract
Background: Although lymphoid malignancies are generally chemosensitive, relapse is common. The use of high-dose therapy can make subsequent cytotoxic therapy intolerable. There is a need to develop regimens with low acute toxicity which are suitable for use in patients post-high dose therapy and following the failure of standard protocols. Patients and methods: Twenty-six patients with lymphomas, fifteen of whom had received high-dose therapy, were treated with a novel regimen consisting of low-dose lomustine, chlorambucil, daily subcutaneous bleomycin, vincristine and methotrexate with dexamethasone on an eight-week cycle (LBCMVD-56). A median of three cycles was given. Results: The overall response rate at 12 weeks was 67% (21% complete remission (CR)) with a median overall survival of 13 months. A symptomatic response was seen in 72%. Previous high-dose therapy did not compromise the response rate. Toxicity was acceptable with grade 3-4 haematological toxicity seen in 27% of cycles, gastrointestinal toxicity seen in 11% and pulmonary toxicity seen in 8%. Thirty-one percent of patients required hospitalisation at some point during this treatment most commonly for neutropenic sepsis. Conclusions: LBCMVD-56 is an inexpensive, outpatient-based regimen with low acute toxicity and a high response rate in this heavily pre-treated group of patients.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 857-860 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Annals of Oncology |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Low-dose continuous chemotherapy
- Lymphoma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Hematology
- Oncology