Phase I/II Trial of Nonpegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Vincristine, and Prednisone in the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Abstract Background The toxicity and efficacy of nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin (TLC D-99) when substituted for conventional doxorubicin in the CHOP (doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide/vincristine/prednisone) regimen were evaluated in the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Liposomal doxorubicin at doses of 40 mg/m 2 , 50 mg/m 2 , 60 mg/m 2 , and 80 mg/m 2 was given with fixed doses of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone. Chemotherapy cycles were repeated every 21 days. Patients and Methods Forty-seven patients with a median age of 55 years (range, 25-83 years) were studied. Results No dose-limiting toxicities were observed at any level. Reversible grade 3/4 neutropenia was the most common toxicity (95.8%). Most nonhematologic side effects were grade 1/2 in severity. Complete remissions were documented in 31 of 46 evaluable patients (67.4%) and partial remissions in 7 (15.2%), for an overall major response rate of 82.6%. The median duration of complete remission is ≥ 27.7 months (range, 2.4 months to ≥ 59.8 months). An exploratory objective was to correlate multidrug resistance–1 (MDR-1) expression with outcome. Immunohistochemistry for MDR-1-related p-glycoprotein was assessed in lymphoma tissues from 27 patients. Of the 27 lymphoma tissues studied, 8 (30%) were MDR-1 positive at diagnosis. The complete response rate was 63% in MDR-1–positive lymphomas and 74% in the MDR-1–negative cases ( P = 0.66). Conclusion Nonpegylated liposomal doxorubicin in combination with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone is an active regimen for patients with newly diagnosed, aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The regimen is relatively well tolerated, with hematologic suppression as the major toxicity. Liposomal encapsulation might evade resistance caused by MDR-1 expression.