LONG-TERM RESULTS WITH MACOP-B IN THE TREATMENT OF AGGRESSIVE NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMAS - THE EXPERIENCE IN BRAZIL

From October 1984 to December 1989, 59 patients with aggressive non-Ho dgkin's lymphomas (diffuse mixed, diffuse large cell, and immunoblasti c) were treated with MACOP-B. All patients were previously untreated a nd most of them had advanced disease. Complete response (CR) was obser ved in 66%. Actuarial overall survival, failure-free survival (FFS), a nd relapse-free survival at 8 years were 54%, 52%, and 81%, respective ly, with a median follow-up of 76 months (range: 28-92 months). The pr esence of B symptoms influenced significantly the CR rate, while FFS w as affected by B symptoms, bone marrow involvement, and number of extr anodal sites. Toxicity was high, with mucositis grade 2 or 3 occurring in 70%, leukopenia grades 3 or 4 in 80%, and death in 11.8% of the pa tients. MACOP-B was active in the treatment of aggressive non-Hodgkin' s lymphomas, mainly in patients with few poor-prognosis factors, but o ther less toxic regimens would be more appropriate for this population . For poor-prognosis patients, new therapeutic modalities are necessar y.