Safety and feasibility of high-dose ranimustine (MCNU), carboplatin, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide (MCVC) therapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation for malignant lymphoma.

High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) is widely used as a salvage therapy in the treatment of refractory malignant lymphoma. To investigate the safety and feasibility of a high-dose MCNU, carboplatin, etoposide and cyclophosphamide (MCVC) regimen, we conducted a prospective multicenter trial. Thirty patients with relapsed/refractory/poor-risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL n = 27) or Hodgkin lymphoma (HD n = 3) were uniformly treated with an MCVC regimen and underwent auto-SCT.

[Change in patient satisfaction in outpatient chemotherapy unit--comparison in 2005 and 2008].

We investigated the influences of the treatment environment, in terms of the increased number of treatments, introduction of regimen assessment and registration system, and the levels of specialization of the concerned medical professionals on patient satisfaction. We compared our results with those of a previous survey conducted in the outpatient chemotherapy unit of Hirosaki University Hospital. The patients were satisfied with respect to the privacy considerations and waiting time.