High-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone as salvage therapy for refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Wei Shu Wang*, Cheng Hwai Tzeng, Tzeon Jye Chiou, Jin Hwang Liu, Sheng Fan, Po Min Chen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background. High-dose cytarabine (ara-C) alone or in combination with mitoxantrone each has shown to be active in therapeutic trials of refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In this study, we administered these two drugs to 14 patients with advanced and refractory NHL. Methods. Ara-C was administered at a dosage of 3 gm/sqm for 2-hour intravenous infusion every 12 hours from day 1 to day 4 (8 doses), and mitoxantrone was given at a dosage of 6 mg/sqm/day for 1-hour intravenous infusion from day 1 to day 5. The clinical efficacy and toxicity were assessed by WHO criteria. Results. Four patients (28%) attained complete remission (CR) and 2 had partial remission (PR). Of the 4 CR patients, the remission lasted 5 months in one patient and 4 months in another. The remaining 2 patients had CR of only 1.3 months. Myelosuppression with subsequent infection was the major toxicity of this regimen. Severe neutropenia (<1,000/uL) lasted for an average of 20 days, and thrombocytopenia (<50,000/uL) 24 days. Nonmyeloid toxicities included 100% alopecia, 93% stomatitis, 43% hepatotoxicity, 36% dermatitis, 28% CNS toxicity and 7% chemical conjunctivitis. Conclusions. A proportion of refractory NHL patients will respond to high-dose ara-C + mitoxantrone, despite that severe myelosuppression is frequently encountered.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)100-105
Number of pages6
JournalChinese Medical Journal (Taipei)
Volume57
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1996

Keywords

  • high-dose ara-C
  • mitoxantrone
  • myelosuppression
  • non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

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