Background: The effects of a novel salvage regimen, IDEA (ifosfamide, cytosine arabinoside, etoposide and dexamethasone), which does not include anthracycline or platinum, in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were examined.
Patients and methods: Thirty-four patients with refractory or relapsed NHL were treated with IDEA.
Results: The overall remission and complete remission rates were 67.6% and 35.3%, respectively. The toxicity of IDEA was tolerable. With a median follow-up of 14 months, one-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival rates were 75.1% and 43.7%, respectively. Adequate numbers of CD34(+) cells were obtained in 77.8% of the patients assigned to receive autologous peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplantation. High-dose chemotherapy with autologous PBSC transplantation was carried out in 14 patients; their 3-year OS was 75.0%, with a median follow-up of 38 months.
Conclusion: IDEA is an effective second-line chemotherapy regimen for NHL patients and has an excellent PBSC-mobilizing effect.