Weekly CHOP for the treatment of advanced intermediate and high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Between January 1981 and September 1986, 48 patients with advanced (stages III and IV) intermediate and high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were treated with weekly CHOP (doxorubicin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and prednisolone), using reduced dosages of cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin. Low-dose oral maintenance chemotherapy was given for 2 years to those patients in remission. Twenty-seven patients (56%) of the evaluable 48 patients achieved a complete response and 12 patients (25%) had a partial response, for an overall response rate of 81%. The relapse-free survival for complete responders has been at a plateau of 67% at 16 months, and actuarial survival for complete responders has been 62%, with no deaths occurring beyond 43 months (survival plateau). One treatment-related death occurred, but toxicity was generally modest. The median time required from the start of weekly CHOP to complete response was only 5 weeks. Weekly CHOP can achieve results similar to those obtained by currently popular regimens utilizing a greater number of drugs at higher dosages.