[Effect of combination chemotherapy for elderly patients with malignant lymphoma]

The remedial effect in elderly patients with malignant lymphoma in two groups treated with combination chemotherapy, one including doxorubicin (ADM) (A group) and the other excluding ADM (V group) were compared. Forty patients aged 65 years or more with malignant lymphoma were entered from January 1982 to December 1991. The A group was made up of 10 patients and the V group of 18 patients. As to pathological classification, two of the A group had low grade malignancy lymphoma, four had intermediate grade and three had high grade. Four of the V group had low grade, eight had intermediate grade and five had high grade. In terms of clinical stage, three of the A group were in stage II, 3 in stage III and 4 in stage IV. Two of the V group were in stage II, 7 in stage III and 9 in stage IV. The effective rate for the A group was 90% and the V group was 61%. The survival rate over five years in the A group was 37.5% and 21.8% in the V group. There were no adverse effects on the cardiovascular system in the A group. No significant differences of effects were shown in this study, however, the A group showed a higher tendency in terms of the CR rate and the survival rate. Cases of early death during chemotherapy were few and the quality of life of the patients was raised by discharge in the A group. Combination chemotherapy including ADM appears to be satisfactory in aged patients with malignant lymphoma.