Systemic polychemotherapy in the treatment of primary cutaneous lymphomas:a clinical follow-up study of 81 patients treated with COP or CHOP

The efficacy of systemic polychemotherapy in the treatment of primary cutan eous B-cell lymphomas (CBCL) or T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) is still controvers ial. A series of 81 patients (46 primary CBCL and 35 CTCL) were treated wit h COP or CHOP regimens. In primary CBCL, the overall objective response rat e (RR) was 98 %, with an 89 % CR rate and a 33 % relapse-rate. Five-year di sease-free survival was 70 %, 5-year survival 97 %. Patients with leg or wi despread lesions showed a higher relapse-rate (55 % vs 26 %) than those wit h trunk or head lesions. The overall objective RR was 40 % in CTCL patients , with a 23 % CR rate; median response duration was 5.7 months, median surv ival 19 months. The results confirm both the good prognosis of primary CBCL and the efficacy of polichemotherapy. CHOP regimen is to be preferred to C OP in as much as it reduces relapse rates. Conversely, there are no indicat ions for the use of COP/CHOP regimens as first-line chemotherapy in CTCL pa tients.