Gemcitabine for relapsed or resistant lymphoma.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Hematology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Gemcitabine's efficacy in hematological malignancies is not well-established.
• Limited data exists on gemcitabine for relapsed or resistant lymphoma.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy and safety of gemcitabine in patients with relapsed or resistant lymphoma.
• To evaluate gemcitabine's role in advanced hematological malignancies.

Main Methods:

• Weekly gemcitabine administration (1 g/m2) in cycles of 7 weeks on, 1 week off, followed by 3 weeks on, 1 week off.
• Treatment continued until disease progression or intolerance.
• Fifteen heavily pre-treated patients with advanced diffuse large-cell or mantle-cell lymphoma enrolled.

Main Results:

• Gemcitabine was well tolerated; no treatment-related sepsis, hemorrhage, or death occurred.
• Two patients discontinued therapy due to non-hematopoietic toxicity.
• Among 13 evaluable patients: 1 complete response, 3 partial responses, 3 stable disease, 6 disease progression.
• One patient with Hodgkin's disease achieved a 21-month complete remission after 6 infusions.

Conclusions:

• Gemcitabine exhibits significant activity and acceptable toxicity in heavily pre-treated advanced lymphoma patients.
• Further investigation of gemcitabine in lymphoma treatment is warranted.