ABVD chemotherapy with interferon for advanced-stage classical Hodgkin's lymphoma: A 10-year follow-up study.

8057 Background: Adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) chemotherapy has been the standard of care for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) for almost three decades. Previous studies demonstrated clinical benefit by combining interferon-alpha (IFN-α) with chemotherapy in newly diagnosed patients (pts) with follicular lymphoma (Sola-Celigny, N Eng J Med. 1993). In this study, we examined the safety and efficacy of the novel IFN-α and ABVD regimen in pts with advanced stage classical HL. Methods: Pts with newly diagnosed advanced stage classical HL were enrolled between July 1997 and March 2000 on Phase II trial of IFN-α + ABVD as initial therapy. The regimen consisted of 6 cycles of ABVD with concurrent IFN-α followed by XRT if indicated. The IFN-α was 6 million IU/ m2 administered subcutaneously on daily schedule for 3 days prior to starting chemotherapy and on day 4 the pts received IFN-α with ABVD. The courses were repeated every 2 weeks for a maximum of 12 doses. IFN-α, dose reduction was allowed for cytopenias. Outcome and baseline characteristics were reported. Results: Twenty eight newly diagnosed pts were eligible: Ann Arbor stages of II, III, IV, were 2 (7%), 9 (32%), and 17 (61%), respectively; International prognostic score (IPS) of 0-2 and ≥ 3 were 15 (54%) and 13 (46%), respectively. Fourteen pts (50%) underwent XRT. With a median follow-up of 10 years, the three-year event-free (EFS) and overall survival was 80% and 100%, respectively. The EFS at three years for pts with IPS of 0-2 and ≥ 3 were 78.5 % and 82.5%, respectively. The treatment was well tolerated with only three pts requiring dose reduction or discontinuation of IFN-α due to cytopenia. Conclusions: IFN-α + ABVD is well tolerated and has promising clinical activity, especially in pts with high IPS. Further development of this regimen is warranted. No significant financial relationships to disclose.