[Efficacy of alternating triple therapy on relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Treatment of relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) remains difficult. This study was to evaluate the efficacy of alternating triple therapy (ATT), alternating administration of ASHAP, m-BACOD, and MINE regimens every 3 weeks, on relapsed or refractory NHL. METHODS: Clinical data of 38 patients with relapsed or refractory NHL (28 relapsed NHL and 10 refractory NHL) treated with ATT were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 38 patients, 10 (26.3%) achieved complete remission and 12 (31.6%) achieved partial remission; the overall response rate was 57.9%. The response rate was 60.0% in B-cell lymphoma patients and 55.6% in T-cell lymphoma patients; it was 65.4% in the patients of 60 years old. With a median follow-up of 11 months, the 1-and 2-year survival rates were 42.1% and 13.2%, respectively. The major adverse event was myelosuppression. CONCLUSIONS: ATT is effective and well tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory NHL. Further clinical study is warranted.