Double high-dose therapy with dose-intensive cyclophosphamide, etoposide, cisplatin (DICEP) followed by high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma

AbstractThe purpose of the present study was to review retrospectively our results of double high-dose therapy with DICEP (dose-intensified cyclophosphamide 5.25 g/m2, etoposide 1.05 g/m2, and cisplatin 105 mg/m2) re-induction followed by high dose melphalan 200 mg/m2 (HDM) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for 73 consecutive patients with relapsed (n = 43) or refractory (n = 30) classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) treated between June 1995 and November 2009. DICEP chemotherapy resulted in successful stem cell mobilization in 71 patients (97%), with a median CD34 + cell collection of 15.6 × 106/kg. With a median follow-up of 56 months post-DICEP, the 5-year progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 61% [95%CI = 49–72%] and 80% [95%CI = 69–89%], respectively. The 5-year PFS was 65% vs. 30% for DICEP responders vs. nonresponders (logrank p = 0.003) and 89% for International Prognostic Score (IPS) = 0–1, 56% for IPS = 2–3, and 24% for IPS = 4–7 (logrank p < 0.001). Respon...