Abstract
Four-drug combination treatment, consisting of adriamycin, vincristine, ifosfamide, and prednisolone (AVIP) was performed to 43 patients with malignant lymphoma, who had been previously treated on other chemotherapy regimens, but relapsed in 10 and refractory in 33 cases. Complete remission rate was 57% (4/7) in Hodgkin's disease (HD), 29% (7/24) in reticulum cell sarcoma (RCS), and 33% (4/12) in lymphosarcoma (LS). No relapse had been observed in 4 complete responders of HD in the following-up period of 2∼45 months. Five of 7 patients (71%) with RCS remained free of disorder for 3∼47 months, but 3 of 4 patients with LS who were brought in complete remission state relapsed within 8 months after the remission. Average surviving time from the initiation of the AVIP therapy was more than 14 months in HD, 7 months in RCS, and 6.5 months in LS. Myelosuppressive toxicity was limited within tolerable range, although 2 cases were suffered from bacterial infections and 7 from herpes zoster (16%). This study indicated that the AVIP therapy was effective to increase survival time, bestowing satisfactory drug response to patients with malignant lymphoma, especially relapsed or refractory types.
