Long-Term Results of the HD2000 Trial Comparing ABVD Versus BEACOPP Versus COPP-EBV-CAD in Untreated Patients With Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Study by Fondazione Italiana Linfomi.

Purpose: The randomized HD2000 trial compared six cycles of ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine), four escalated plus two standard cycles of BEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone), and six cycles of COPP-EBV-CAD (cyclophosphamide, lomustine, vindesine, melphalan, prednisone, epidoxorubicin, vincristine, procarbazine, vinblastine, and bleomycin; CEC) in patients with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma. After a median follow-up of 42 months, patients who received BEACOPP were reported to have experienced better progression-free survival (PFS) but not better overall survival (OS) results than those receiving ABVD. We here report a post hoc analysis of this trial after a median follow-up of 10 years.

The use of thrombopoietin-receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP): a "real life" retrospective multicenter experience of the Rete Ematologica Pugliese (REP).

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a disease which sees one-third of patients failing first and subsequent therapeutic approaches, including splenectomy. Thrombopoietin-receptor agonists (TPO-RAs) are recommended for adults who relapse after splenectomy or who have contraindications for splenectomy. In this multicenter study, a total of 124 patients were retrospectively evaluated: 55 (44.

Tumour burden predicts treatment resistance in patients with early unfavourable or advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma treated with ABVD and radiotherapy.

The purpose of the work was to investigate the factors predicting early resistance to treatment in Hodgkin lymphoma. Many staging parameters, including relative tumour burden (rTB), were analysed in 246 patients with Hodgkin lymphoma in relation to early failure, that is, less than complete remission (i.e.

A randomized trial with melphalan and prednisone versus melphalan and prednisone plus thalidomide in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients not eligible for autologous stem cell transplant.

Several trials comparing the efficacy of standard melphalan and prednisone (MP) therapy with MP plus thalidomide (MPT) in elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM) have been reported, with inconsistent results. The primary goal of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of MP versus MPT in newly diagnosed patients with MM who were transplant-ineligible or over age 65. A total of 135 patients were enrolled.

Long term outcome of patients with localized aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with PROMECE-CYTABOM plus involved-field radiation therapy: a study by the Gruppo Italiano Studio Linfomi.

We conducted a retrospective analysis on 168 adult patients with newly diagnosed, limited-stage (I and II) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated from 1988 to 2004 with PROMECE-CYTABOM (P-C) plus involved-field radiation therapy (IF-RT). At the end of P-C, the overall response rate was 92%. Radiotherapy (RT) was delivered to 84% of cases.

Response-guided ABVD chemotherapy plus involved-field radiation therapy for intermediate-stage Hodgkin lymphoma in the pre-positron emission tomography era: a Gruppo Italiano Studio Linfomi (GISL) prospective trial.

Purpose: In the pre-positron emission tomography era, the Gruppo Italiano Studio Linfomi (GISL) investigated the feasibility and efficacy of a treatment based on a response-tailored number of doxorubicin/bleomycin/vinblastine/dacarbazine (ABVD) courses in 218 intermediate-stage Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

Patients And Methods: Patients with stage I/II showing at least one adverse prognostic factor and stage IIIA without adverse prognostic factors were recruited. Treatment included a first step of 3 ABVD courses, followed by an early-restaging.

ABVD compared with BEACOPP compared with CEC for the initial treatment of patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma: results from the HD2000 Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio dei Linfomi Trial.

Purpose: To compare doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine (ABVD) versus bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (BEACOPP) versus cyclophosphamide, lomustine, vindesine, melphalan, prednisone, epidoxirubicin, vincristine, procarbazine, vinblastine, and bleomycin (COPPEBVCAD; CEC) for advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL).

Patients And Methods: Three hundred seven patients with advanced HL (stage IIB, III, and IV) were randomly assigned to receive six courses of ABVD, four escalated plus two standard courses of BEACOPP, or six courses of CEC, plus a limited radiation therapy program.

Results: After a median follow-up of 41 months, BEACOPP resulted in a superior progression-free survival (PFS), with a significant reduction in risk of progression (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.

Bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw: a review of 35 cases and an evaluation of its frequency in multiple myeloma patients.

Over a period of 28 months, we observed five cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in cancer patients treated with bisphosphonates (BP) at our institution. This prompted us to undertake a retrospective, multicenter study to analyse the characteristics of patients who exhibited ONJ and to define the frequency of ONJ in multiple myeloma (MM). We identified 35 cases in Gruppo Italiano Studio Linfomi centers during the period 2002 - 05.

The length of treatment of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas established according to the international prognostic index score: long-term results of the GISL LA03 study.

Objectives: To compare two different schedules of two different anthracycline-containing regimens, where length of treatment is modulated according to the international prognostic index (IPI) in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL).

Methods: In 1993 the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio dei Linfomi (GISL) started a randomized 2 x 2 factorial phase III clinical trial for patients with newly diagnosed aggressive NHL comparing ProME(Epidoxorubicin)CE-CytaBOM (PE-C) to ProMI(Idarubicin)CE-CytaBOM (PI-C) and a fixed to a flexible treatment schedule where anthracycline dose was to be modulated according to observed hematological toxicity. Patients with low or low-intermediate IPI (IPI 0-2) and those with intermediate-high or high IPI (IPI 3-5) should receive six or eight courses, respectively.