A RANDOMIZED PROSPECTIVE TRIAL OF CHOP VERSUS MCOP IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH INTERMEDIATE AND HIGH GRADE NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA (AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER)
A RANDOMIZED PROSPECTIVE TRIAL OF CHOP VERSUS MCOP IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH INTERMEDIATE AND HIGH GRADE NON-HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA (AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER)
RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells.
PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to compare the effectiveness of combination chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone, with either mitoxantrone or doxorubicin in treating patients with intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
OBJECTIVES: I. Assess the treatment-related neurologic and hematologic toxicities of patients aged 65 years and over with intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma randomized to CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone) vs. MCOP (mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisolone). II. Compare the survival rate in these patients.
OUTLINE: Randomized study. The following acronyms are used: CHOP CTX/DOX/VCR/PRDL CTX Cyclophosphamide, NSC-26271 DHAD Mitoxantrone, NSC-301739 DOX Doxorubicin, NSC-123127 MCOP DHAD/CTX/VCR/PRDL PRDL Prednisolone, NSC-9900 VCR Vincristine, NSC-67574 Arm I: 4-Drug Combination Chemotherapy. CHOP. Arm II: 4-Drug Combination Chemotherapy. MCOP.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 200 patients will be entered over approximately 5 years.
DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically confirmed intermediate- or high-grade non- Hodgkin's lymphoma of the following types: Diffuse centroblastic Diffuse immunoblastic B- and T-cell lymphoblastic Peripheral T-cell (mixed or large cell) and Ki-1 No Stage IA (nonbulky) disease suitable for radiotherapy alone
PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS: Age: 65 and over Performance status: Not specified Hematopoietic: Not specified Hepatic: Not specified Renal: Not specified Cardiovascular: No severe ischemic heart disease No cardiomyopathy that would restrict doxorubicin use Other: No other serious medical conditions that would affect treatment outcome No prior malignancy except: Nonmelanomatous skin cancer Adequately treated in situ cervical cancer Sufficiently fit to receive treatment
PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY: Biologic therapy: Not specified Chemotherapy: No prior chemotherapy Endocrine therapy: Not specified Radiotherapy: No prior radiotherapy Surgery: Not specified