PVAG-14 a Potential New Regimen for Early-Stage Unfavorable Hodgkins

The era of refining combination chemotherapy treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma seems never-ending.

Reporting at the annual congress of the European Hematology Association, Dr. Diana Wongso, on behalf of the German Hodgkin's Study Group, explained that a new regimen, PVAG-14 (prednisone, vinblastine, doxorubicin and gemcitabine gave patients better tumor control with a lot less toxicity in patients diagnosed with early-stage unfavorable Hodgkin's, and that it might offer a better alternative to the 2 + 2 chemotherapy normally prescribed for this patient population.

In the study, 40 out of 41 patients achieved complete remission with PVAG-14 therapy. Compare that to the researchers' hopes that as many as half the participants achieve complete remission.

Although a very small trial, the results give researchers hope that this chemotherapy regimen could provide high tumor control with significantly less toxicity. "PVAG-14 might be an effective and less toxic alternative to 2+2 chemotherapy and should be tested in a phase III trial," said Dr. Wongso.

By "2+2 chemotherapy", Dr. Wongso is referring to the tendency among some clinical practice guidelines to recommend two cycles of ABVD and two cycles of BEACOPP for patients with early-stage unfavorable Hodgkin's, a regimen regarded to be unnecessarily toxic.

Median age among patients was 38 years. These results were presented at a medical conference and should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Source: Oncologypractice.com