Oncology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Oncology, including details on cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.

Intensified CHOP of 12-weeks duration (I-CHOP) plus G-CSF compared with standard CHOP of 24-weeks duration (CHOP-21) for patients with intermediate-risk aggressive non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. A phase III trial of the Dutch-Belgian Hemato-Oncology Cooperative Group (HOVON).

Verdonck LF, Notenboom A, de Jong DD, Mackenzie MA, Verhoef GE, Kramer MH, Ossenkoppele GJ, Doorduijn JK, Sonneveld P, van Imhoff GW

University Medical Center, Netherlands.

Optimal dose and timing of CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) chemotherapy for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is still an unresolved issue. We assessed whether dose intensifications with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin might improve outcome in younger patients with intermediate-risk aggressive NHL. Previously untreated patients were assigned to receive either 8 courses of standard CHOP (n=239) or 6 courses of intensified (I)-CHOP (n= 238). Although there was a tendency in favour of I-CHOP for overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and event-free survival (EFS), the differences were not significant .However, although these analyses were not planned, when the intermediate-risk group was divided into low-intermediate and high-intermediate risk patients according to the International Prognostic Index (IPI), low-intermediate risk patients had improved 6 year OS (67% versus 52% ; p=0.05), DFS (58% versus 45% ; p=0.06), and EFS ( 41 % versus 30%; p=0.21) when they were treated with I-CHOP compared with standard CHOP. On the other hand, high-intermediate risk patients seem to have no benefit of I-CHOP. Although clinically relevant side-effects occurred more often in the I-CHOP arm, treatment-related mortality was similar. These data suggest that I-CHOP might be preferable to standard CHOP in younger patients with low-intermediate risk aggressive NHL.

Published 29 November 2006 in Blood.
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