Effectiveness of Interferon-Alfa and Mid-Cycle Chemotherapy Added to an Anthracycline-Based Regimen in the Treatment of Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Interferon-alfa in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating certain types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (1). However, there is no published data on upfront induction treatment of aggressive NHL with IFN-alfa containing regimens. Studies have also shown that one can overcome regrowth resistance by administering mid-cycle agents which slow tumor proliferation between courses of cytotoxic therapy (2). Based on this, we treated 32 consecutive patients between 1/93 and 9/96 with a regimen containing cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2, mitoxantrone 12 mg/m2, and teniposide 60 mg/m2 IV on day 1 with prednisone 100 mg PO given on days 1–5. On day 15, patients received vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 (2 mg max.) and bleomycin 10 units/ m2 IV. Interferon-alfa-2b 5×l06 units/m2 SQ was administered on days 22–26. The median age was 55 (range 26–83), M:F ratio was 2.5:1, and the median International Prognostic Index was 2. 38% of patients had stages I-II and 62% had stages III-IV disease. Fif...