Bleomycin in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Bleomycin is a cell-cycle--specific chemotherapeutic agent, with several interesting properties, that lends itself to use in combination chemotherapeutic protocols, especially those for malignant lymphomas. In the following article, bleomycin's use as a single agent and subsequently in three generations of combination chemotherapeutic regimens is reviewed. Bleomycin's lack of myelosuppression and its tendency to concentrate in lymphoid tissue while maintaining tolerable toxicities has been the rationale for its incorporation into more aggressive treatment regimens.