Methylprednisolone, etoposide, vindesine, and chlorambucil (PEEC) alone or alternating with CHOP as initial or salvage therapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

A novel cytotoxic drug combination, PEEC, has been tested in the initial or salvage treatment of lymphomas. The PEEC combination alone is active in high grade or intermediate grade NHL with two complete and two partial remissions out of four patients so treated. When combined with standard CHOP therapy using an alternating regime, seven out of 11 patients obtained a complete remission and four partial remission. Ten patients were well, off treatment, beyond one year from presentation. The combination was less impressive, however, as salvage therapy with two partial responses in a heavily pre-treated group of nine patients.