Abstract
The cellular proliferation kinetics of malignant lymphoma were investigated to obtain useful information for rational scheduling of chemotherapy. It is recommended to use intermittent combination chemotherapy covering the full generation time, although selection of treatment is also necessary on the basis of histologic type.
Combination chemotherapy with VEP, VENP, VQFP and VEPA was used as treatment. There were 33∼73% complete remissions with 67∼100% overall responses for previously untreated patients. The more favorable results of VENP therapy were seen in Hodgkin's disease. According to the LSG classification, the prognosis was proportionally poor to tumor cell size in diffuse lymphoma, while that of lymphoblastic and pleomorphic type was the worst and that of follicular lymphoma the best. The complete remission rate was lower for patients with T-cell type compared to non-T-cell type, and the median survival for T-cell type was only 6 months. A new effective protocol is needed for treatment of T-cell type lymphoma based on drug sensitivity studies.
In order to develope individualized predictive trials of anticancer drugs, we attempted to induce in vitro clonal growth of neoplastic lymphoid cells from fresh specimens of involved tissue, and conclude that further refinements of the assays are desirable before they can be applied to widespread clinical use.
OK-432, a streptococcus pyogenes preparation was assessed if it is useful to maintain complete remission achieved by chemotherapy. The remission duration was longer especially in Hodgkin's disease when complete responders received OK-432 alone instead of chemotherapy. When the in vitro response to PHA and NK activity by the lymphocytes were examined periodically along the clinical course, they recovered at complete remission and were enhanced by OK-432.
