RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy use different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to damage cancer cells. Peripheral stem cell transplantation may allow the doctor to give higher doses of chemotherapy and radiation and kill more cancer cells. It is not yet known whether chemoradiotherapy plus peripheral stem cell transplantation is more effective than combination chemotherapy alone in treating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying chemoradiotherapy and peripheral stem cell transplantation to see how well they work compared to combination chemotherapy in treating patients with stage II, stage III, or stage IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare the overall survival and progression-free survival of patients with intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with high-dose chemoradiotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT) vs conventional dose cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) (or CHOP plus rituximab for CD20+ disease) with possible late APBSCT.
• Compare the toxic effects of these regimens in this patient population.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized study. Patients are stratified according to disease risk (intermediate-high vs high).

Patients receive CHOP chemotherapy comprising cyclophosphamide IV over 15 minutes, doxorubicin IV, and vincristine IV on day 1 and oral prednisone on days 1-5. Patients with CD20-positive disease also receive rituximab IV on day 1 (or day 0 during course 1 only). Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 5 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Within 35 days of completing the fifth course, patients with partial or complete response are randomized to one of two treatment arms.

• Arm I: Patients receive CHOP (or CHOP plus rituximab [CHOP-R]) as above. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 3 additional courses. After completion of chemotherapy, patients are encouraged to undergo harvest of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) for possible use at time of relapse. After completion of 8 courses, patients receive no additional therapy until disease progression or biopsy-proven disease.
• Arm II: Patients receive one additional course of CHOP/CHOP-R followed by filgrastim (G-CSF), sargramostim (GM-CSF), or other colony-stimulating factors used singly or in combination according to center preference. PBSC are harvested and selected for CD34+ cells. Patients under age 61 receive one of two preparative regimens: a total body irradiation (TBI)-based regimen comprising irradiation administered twice daily on days -8 to -5, etoposide IV over 4 hours on day -4, and cyclophosphamide IV over 1 hour on day -2 OR carmustine IV over 2 hours on days -6 to -4 and etoposide and cyclophosphamide as in the TBI-based regimen. Patients age 61 to 65 receive the augmented regimen comprising carmustine, etoposide, and cyclophosphamide as above. Patients receive involved field radiotherapy prior to the preparative regimen only if there is biopsy-proven residual bulk disease and at the discretion of the center. PBSC are reinfused 36-48 hours after completion of cyclophosphamide. If both bone marrow and PBSC are harvested, bone marrow is reinfused on day 0 and then PBSC are reinfused either the same day or the following day.

Patients are followed every 6 months for 2 years and then annually thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Approximately 360 patients (at least 135 per treatment arm) will be accrued for this study within 5 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically proven intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

• Ann Arbor classification of "bulky" stage II, III, or IV

• Must be classified as high-intermediate or high-risk according to International Age Adjusted Index

• Bidimensionally measurable disease

• No lymphoblastic, transformed, or mantle cell lymphomas

• No CNS involvement by lymphoma

• CD20 status confirmed by immunocytochemistry or flow cytometry

• Must have either bilateral or unilateral bone marrow aspiration and biopsy ≥ 42 days before first course of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) therapy (or CHOP plus rituximab [CHOP-R] for CD20+ disease) OR within 42 days prior to registration if CHOP/CHOP-R therapy has not begun

• Must have bilateral bone marrow aspiration and biopsy within 28 days of randomization

  • Bone marrow involvement with lymphoma is allowed, provided there is an improvement of at least 50% if used as an evaluable site of disease

• No prior lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes, or leukemia NOTE: A new classification scheme for adult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has been adopted by PDQ. The terminology of "indolent" or "aggressive" lymphoma will replace the former terminology of "low", "intermediate", or "high" grade lymphoma. However, this protocol uses the former terminology.

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• 15 to 65

Performance status:

• Not specified

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• Not specified

Hepatic:

• Bilirubin no greater than 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• No nonlymphoma-related hepatic dysfunction

Renal:

• Creatinine no greater than 2 times ULN
• Creatinine clearance at least 60 mL/min
• No nonlymphoma-related renal dysfunction
• No history of grade 3 hemorrhagic cystitis due to cyclophosphamide

Cardiovascular:

• No coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, or dysrhythmia requiring therapy
• MUGA scan or 2-D echocardiogram required if patient's history is questionable
• Ejection fraction normal

Pulmonary:

• DLCO or FEV_1 at least 60% of predicted

Other:

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception
• HIV negative
• No other malignancy within the past 5 years except basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or carcinoma in situ of the cervix
• No allergy to etoposide
• No active bacterial, fungal, or viral infection

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• No prior monoclonal antibody therapy for lymphoma except if included in a single course of CHOP/CHOP-R

Chemotherapy:

• No prior chemotherapy for lymphoma except for a single course of CHOP/CHOP-R* NOTE: *Prednisone or other corticosteroids not considered prior chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• See Chemotherapy
• Prior corticosteroids allowed

Radiotherapy:

• No prior radiotherapy for lymphoma
• No prior thoracic radiotherapy or radiotherapy greater than 2,000 cGy to any other site

Surgery:

• Not specified