Salvage therapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with a combination of dexamethasone,etoposide, ifosfamide,and cisplatin

Summary A total of 30 consecutive patients with refractory or relapsing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were treated with a combination of dexamethasone, etoposide (VP-16), ifosfamide, and cisplatin (DVIP). In all, 9 subjects (30%) showed a partial response and 10 (33%) achieved a complete response (CR) lasting from 2.5 to 24+ months. Aggressive histology, no prior therapy with VP-16, a CR to previous chemotherapy, and a treatment-free interval of >6 months prior to the present study were associated with the high CR rate. DVIP caused pronounced myelosuppression (median granulocyte nadir and median platelet nadir, 380/mm³ and 73.000/mm³, respectively), but no drug-related death occurred. We conclude that DVIP is an effective salvage combination, especially in aggressive NHL, that produces acceptable toxicity.Presented in part during the 15th Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology, Copenhagen, Denmark, November 1990