Upfront double high-dose chemotherapy with DICEP followed by BEAM and autologous stem cell transplantation for poor-prognosis aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

A single center, prospective clinical trial was conducted evaluating 2 cycles of induction high-dose chemotherapy for adults younger than 65 years of age with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and 2 to 3 Age-Adjusted International Prognostic Index risk factors. Patients received one cycle of standard dose cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) followed by one cycle of dose-intensive cyclophosphamide 5.25 g/m(2), etoposide 1.05 g/m(2), cisplatin 105 mg/m(2) (DICEP), then underwent autologous blood stem cell collection, followed by one cycle of high-dose carmustine (BCNU) 300 mg/m(2), etoposide 800 mg/m(2), Ara-C 1600 mg/m(2), melphalan 140 mg/m(2) (BEAM), and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) and radiotherapy to prior bulk. From June 1998 to August 2004, 55 patients aged 20 to 63 years (median 44 years) were accrued, 51 (92%) of whom had diffuse large B-cell NHL. Poor prognostic factors included stage 4 (n = 46), elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; n = 47), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 2 to 4 (n = 43), bulky mass more than 10 cm (n = 34), and marrow involvement (n = 16). Only one patient experienced nonrelapse mortality. With a median follow-up of 49 months, 4-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) rates for all 55 patients are 72% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 60%-84%) and 79% (95% CI = 69%-90%), respectively. In conclusion, CHOP-DICEP-BEAM is feasible and gave encouraging EFS and OS for patients with poor-prognosis aggressive NHL.