Chemotherapy of progressive hairy-cell leukaemia

5 patients with hairy-cell leukaemia were treated with chemotherapy. 3 of them received multiple courses of CHOP (cyclophosphamide-doxorubicin-vincristine-prednisolone); 1 patient received cyclophosphamide monotherapy for 6 months. The 5th patient developed a Mikulicz's syndrome after splenectomy and was initially treated with cyclophosphamide monotherapy, then received 1 course of CHOP, and finally 9 courses of intermediate-dose methotrexate. 1 complete remission (45 months+) and 3 partial remissions (75+, 68, 32+ months) were observed, while 1 patient had progressive disease. Our results indicate that chemotherapy may be a valuable alternative to alpha-interferon in the treatment of hairy-cell leukaemia progressing after splenectomy.