A comparison of nitrogen mustard, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (mopp) vs. nitrogen mustard in advanced hodgkin's disease

A randomized study of patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease was designed to determine whether the improved therapeutic effectiveness of combination chemotherapy was due to the use of a combination of drugs or might be achieved with a single agent if given as intensively and for as long a period. A combination of nitrogen mustard, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP) was compared with nitrogen mustard (HN2) alone. Treatment with both regimens was given to tolerance on cylic basis and was continued for six cycles of treatment. Sixty-one evaluable patients were treated with MOPP and 47 with HN2. The complete remission rate of 47.5% with MOPP was significantly better than the 12.8% with HN2 (p less than .05). Complete remission lasted a median of 15 months after MOPP and 12 months after HN2. The survival of patients initially treated with MOPP was significantly better than that of those initially treated with HN2.