Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation - Blog Science Connections

Salvage Chemotherapy for Lymphoma 245
Table 3. Comparison of Response Rates of DHAP and MIME
DHAP
MIME
Cell Type No. CR (%) CR + PR (%) No. CR (%) CR + PR (%)
Aggressive 55 33 58 123 32 64
DLCL 41 29 56 94 33 62
Others 14 43 64 29 28 71
Indolent 28 36 61 85 12 54
Transformed 13 38 62 31 10 61
FSCC (NPDL) 8 50 88 27 11 63
Others 7 14 43 27 15 37
Total 83 34 60 208 24 60
Abbreviations: DHAP, dexamethasone, cytarabine, and cisplatin; MIME,
mitoguazone, ifosfamide, methotrexate, and etoposide; CR, complete response; PR,
partial response; DLCL, diffuse large cell lymphoma; FSCC (NPDL), follicular small
cleaved cell lymphoma (nodular poorly differentiated lymphoma).
criteria utilized. Most of these trials have been carried out in patients under 60
years of age, who have no evidence of marrow involvement and are of good
performance status. Some studies have also required the achievement of a
complete response to frontline therapy. These selection criteria have not
allowed an easy comparison with standard-dose chemotherapy regimens,
which usually include all patients, irrespective of their pretreatment prognostic
features. Using these criteria necessarily results in a much more favorable
group of patients. In order to illustrate this, we have retrospectively identified
from our recently completed trial with MIME 25 patients with diffuse large cell
lymphoma who meet these criteria. The response rate for this selected group of
patients is shown in Table 4. Undoubtedly, a very high complete remission rate
Table 4. MIME as Salvage Therapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Patient
No. in
Characteristics No. CR (%) PR (%) CCR at 2 Years
All 94 34 28 4