DEXA-BEAM CHEMOTHERAPY IN RELAPSED OR RESISTANT NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA- A PILOT-STUDY

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the feasibili ty and response of the Dexa-BEAM regimen as a salvage therapy in patie nts with relapsed or resistant Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Material and Methods: Sixteen multiple pretreated patients (median age 47, rang e 29-63 years) with relapsed or resistant NHL were treated with 1-5 cy cles of Dexa-BEAM chemotherapy. The response to therapy and the toxici ty were evaluated according to standard World Health Organization (WHO ) criteria. Results: Six and 5 patients achieved complete (CR) and par tial remissions (PR), respectively, resulting in an overall response r ate of 69%. Up to now 4 patients who achieved a CR after Dexa-BEAM und erwent high-dose chemotherapy and were successfully transplanted with autologous peripheral blood stem cells. Progressive disease developed in 5 patients. As expected, myelosuppression (WHO III degrees-IV degre es), the major side effect, was observed in all courses. Otherwise the non-hematological toxicity of this regimen was moderate, reaching WHO grades I and II only. There was no treatment-related death. Conclusio ns: Dexa-BEAM is a well-tolerated salvage therapy in heavily pretreate d NHL patients. The high overall response rate in this study is encour aging and warrants further investigations in a larger number of patien ts to confirm its efficacy.