A weekly regimen with dose escalation of doxorubicin for patients with advanced Hodgkin's lymphoma: results of a phase II study of the Groupe d'Etudes des Lymphomes de l'Adulte (GELA).

This multicenter phase II study assessed the feasibility and efficacy of a weekly chemotherapy regimen with a moderately escalated dose of doxorubicin administered over 16 weeks, followed by radiation therapy (RT) to bulky sites. From July 1996 to February 1998, 44 untreated patients with stage IIIB-IV Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL), and 0 - 2 risk factors described by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, were treated. Chemotherapy was a combination of increased-dose doxorubicin with conventional doses of cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, prednisone, vindesine, bleomycin, and etoposide. Patients received four cycles of the weekly regimen for 16 weeks. Forty-one patients received the planned four cycles of chemotherapy, and RT was delivered to 36 patients. The incidence of WHO grade 3 - 4 neutropenia was 90%. A total of 39 patients achieved a complete remission (88.6%). The median follow-up was 95 months. The 7-years freedom from treatment failure and overall survival estimates were 57% (95% confidence interval (CI), 41% - 70%), and 93% (95% CI, 80 - 98%), respectively. The relapse rate was related to the short duration of chemotherapy, and the failure to prevent relapses with consolidation RT. In this study population the 16-week regimen and RT to bulky sites were not sufficient for disease control.