Efficacy and safety of first line vincristine with doxorubicin, bleomycin and dacarbazine (ABOD) for Hodgkin's lymphoma: a single institute experience.

BACKGROUND: ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine (Vb) and dacarbazine) is the standard regimen in Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL).Vincristine (O) is a mitotic spindle agent like Vb. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of O as a part of ABOD in HL.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who had ABOD were enrolled. Stage I-II HL were evaluated for unfavorable risk factors according to NCCN. National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria was used for toxicity.

RESULTS: Seventy-nine HL patients in our center between 2003 and 2007 were evaluated retrospectively. Median follow-up was 54 months. Most of the patients were male in their third decade. Median ABOD cycles were 6 (2-8). Primary refractory disease rate was 17.7% whereas it was 5.1% for early relapse and 5.1% for late relapse disease. Response rates were as 82.3% for complete response, 11.4% for partial response, 5.1% for stable disease and 1.3% for progressive disease. Half of relapsed patients had autologous stem cell transplantation. Estimated 5-year failure-free survival was 71% and significantly longer in early stage patients without risk factors, bulky disease or radiotherapy (RT) (p=0.05, p<0.0001, p=0.02; respectively). Estimated 5-year overall survival was 74% and significantly longer in those who had no RT (p=0.001). Dose modification rate was 5.1% and chemotherapy delay rate was 19%. There were no toxicity- related deaths.

CONCLUSIONS: ABOD seems to be effective with managable toxicity in HL, even in those with poor prognostic factors.