The treatment of T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (T-NHL) remains challenging. There is currently no standard regimen for the treatment of T-NHL in the first- or second-line setting. Thalidomide was previously shown to exert antitumor effects through inhibiting angiogenesis, promoting apoptosis and immunomodulatory activity. However, all the previous studies on the treatment of lymphoma with thalidomide included patient samples of limited size. In the present study, 46 cases of eligible T-NHL patients were randomized into i) the control group (conventional combined chemotherapy, n=22) and ii) the thalidomide group (thalidomide plus combined chemotherapy, n=24). The median dose of thalidomide was 200 mg (range, 150-400 mg) every night, without reported severe side effects. The clinical response to treatment was as follows: Complete response (CR) in 12 cases, partial response (PR) in 7, stable disease (SD) in 1 and progressive disease (PD) in 4 cases in the thalidomide group; and CR in 8 cases, PR in 6, SD in 3 and PD in 5 cases in the control group. The CR rate was 50.0 and 36.4% in the thalidomide and the control groups, respectively (P<0.05). The median progression-free and overall survival were 12 and undefined months, respectively, in the thalidomide group and 6 and 17 months, respectively, in the control group. The toxicity profile was considered acceptable in both groups. Our results indicated that thalidomide plus combined chemotherapy may exhibit enhanced efficacy in the clinical treatment of T-NHL. In addition, this type of treatment may reduce the frequency of adverse gastrointestinal reactions and help alleviate fear of chemotherapy. Therefore, thalidomide plus combined chemotherapy may be a viable option for the clinical treatment of T-NHL.
Keywords: T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; chemotherapy; non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma; thalidomide; treatment.