Carboplatin instead of cisplatin in combination with dexamethasone, high-dose cytarabine with or without rituximab (DHAC+/−R) is an effective treatment with low toxicity in Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas

The DHAP regimen (high-dose cytarabine in combination with dexamethasone and cisplatin) with or without rituximab (DHAP+/−R) is one of the most common regimens in daily practice. It is considered the standard treatment for relapse or refractory Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). Cisplatin nephrotoxicity is a major concern, and other platinum compounds are being tried. We performed a monocentric retrospective analysis to evaluate the use of carboplatin, so-called DHAC+/−R regimen. The purpose was to assess the toxicity of the DHAC+/−R regimen in real-life. The Dexamethasone, Cytarabine, Carboplatin (DHAC) regimen consisted of carboplatin AUC = 5 mg/ml/min (targeted area under the curve with Calvert’s formula) on day 1, cytarabine 2 g/m2 twice a day on day 2 and IV dexamethasone 40 mg from days 1 to 4. Rituximab was administrated at 375 mg/m2 on day 1 for CD20+ NHL. The interval between courses was 21 days. During the period considered, 199 patients received DHAC+/−R. For the entire cohort, median follow-up is 24 months (range, 2–82), median OS is not reached (NR), estimated 2-year OS is 75% (95% CI, 69–83) and median progression-free survival (PFS) is 46 months (95% CI, 22-NA). Of 144 patients scheduled for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), 102 (71%, NA = 2) were in response after DHAC+/−R and all except 4 underwent ASCT. Grade ≥ 3 haematological toxicities were mainly thrombocytopenia (n = 101) and anaemia (n = 95). Grade ≥ 3 neutropenia occurred in 10 patients. No grade ≥ 3 renal and one grade 3 neurological toxicity were reported. DHAC+/−R is feasible in daily practice, provides good response rates and jeopardises neither stem cell collection nor ASCT.