A phase II study of VEPA/FEPP chemotherapy for aggressive lymphoma in elderly patients: Japan Clinical Oncology Group Study JCOG9203.

The Lymphoma Study Group (LSG) of the Japan Clinical Oncology Group conducted a phase II trial of LSG12 therapy for 45 elderly patients with aggressive lymphoma to clarify whether LSG12 reduces severe infection without lowering the complete response (CR) rate in comparison with LSG4. LSG12, which consisted of a regimen of vincristine, cyclophosphamide, prednisolone, doxorubicin, vindesine, etoposide, and procarbazine (VEPA/FEPP), excluded bleomycin and methotrexate of LSG4 therapy, reduced the dosages of doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, and increased etoposide and procarbazine dosages instead. Inclusion criteria consisted of a patient age of 70 to 75 years, a World Health Organization performance status of 0 to 2, and acceptable organ function.

[Significance of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain in the management of patients with malignant lymphoma: a multi-center study].

A multi-center series of 117 patients with malignant lymphoma were analyzed to evaluate the clinical significance of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain (sIL-2R alpha). The initial levels of sIL-2R alpha ranged from 277 U/ml to 22,800 U/ml with a mean level of 3,451 +/- 4,268 U/ml and a median level of 1,600 U/ml. The sIL-2R alpha levels of the diffuse lymphoma/intermediate-grade subtypes defined by the LSG classification/Working Formulation were higher than those of the follicular lymphoma/low-grade subtypes.