Bleomycin in older early-stage favorable Hodgkin lymphoma patients: analysis of the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) HD10 and HD13 trials
Boris Böll, Helen Goergen, Karolin Behringer, Paul J Bröckelmann, Felicitas Hitz, Andrea Kerkhoff, Richard Greil, Bastian von Tresckow, Dennis A Eichenauer, Carolin Bürkle, Sven Borchmann, Michael Fuchs, Volker Diehl, Andreas Engert, Peter Borchmann, Boris Böll, Helen Goergen, Karolin Behringer, Paul J Bröckelmann, Felicitas Hitz, Andrea Kerkhoff, Richard Greil, Bastian von Tresckow, Dennis A Eichenauer, Carolin Bürkle, Sven Borchmann, Michael Fuchs, Volker Diehl, Andreas Engert, Peter Borchmann
Abstract
Doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine sulfate, and dacarbazine (ABVD) is associated with severe toxicity in older patients, particularly from bleomycin-induced lung toxicity (BLT). Therefore, using bleomycin has been questioned in older Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients, especially in early-stage HL. We therefore analyzed feasibility, toxicity, and efficacy of ABVD or AVD in 287 older early-stage favorable HL patients. We included patients ≥60 years of age in the German Hodgkin Study Group HD10 and HD13 trials randomized to either 2 cycles of ABVD (2×ABVD; n = 137) or AVD (2×AVD; n = 82), each followed by involved-field radiotherapy (IF-RT), with patients randomized to 4×ABVD+IF-RT (n = 68). Patients' median age was 65 years (range, 60-75) with comparable patient and disease characteristics. Grade III-IV adverse event rates were similar in patients receiving 2×AVD and 2×ABVD (40% and 39%, respectively), but considerably higher in patients receiving 4×ABVD (65%). Similarly, BLT was rare in patients receiving 2×ABVD/AVD, but occurred in 7/69 (10%) of patients randomized to 4×ABVD, with 3 lethal events. In conclusion, no effects of bleomycin on toxicity rates were detectable in older patients receiving 2 cycles of chemotherapy. However, we found a high risk of severe toxicity of bleomycin in older HL patients receiving more than 2 cycles of ABVD. These trials are registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov and www.isrctn.com as #NCT00265018 (HD10) and #ISRCTN63474366 (HD13).
© 2016 by The American Society of Hematology.
Source: PubMed