CHOP-BASED CHEMOTHERAPY IS AS EFFECTIVE AS ALTERNATING PEEC CHOP CHEMOTHERAPY IN A RANDOMIZED TRIAL IN HIGH-GRADE NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA/

The aim of this study was to test whether survival for patients with h igh-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) can be improved with a non-cros s-resistant regimen as compared to a CHOP-based regimen. This is a mul ticentre study comprising 325 adult patients, median age 58 years, wit h high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: patients of ang age and performan ce status were eligible provided they were able to receive the drugs i n the regimens. Patients were randomised to either B-CHOP-M (bleomycin , cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone and methotr exate) or PEEC-M (methylprednisolone, vindesine, etoposide, chlorambuc il and methotrexate) alternating with B-CHOP-M. At a median follow-up of 9 years, there was no significant difference in overall survival or disease-free survival between the two arms. Toxicities for the two re gimens were equivalent. This study confirms that for relatively unsele cted patients with high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an alternating m ultidrug regimen does not improve upon the results obtained with B-CHO P-M. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.