Ifosfamide and etoposide as salvage therapy for non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

The result of a combination consisting of ifosfamide and etoposide was evaluated in 57 patients suffering from non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma (NHL) who had relapsed or were resistant to adriamycin-containing combinations. Some of the patients (35%) also received methotrexate. 80% of the patients belonged to the histology group ''high-grade'' malignant NHL. 11 of the 57 patients (19%) obtained a remission, 5 of these were complete and 6 partial. The remission predominantly occurred in the group of patients with ''high-grade'' malignant histopathology who were treated at the first relapse after complete remission or when front-line treatment induced a partial remission and ifosfamide and etoposide were added in direct connection with frontline treatment. It is concluded that the use of the combination of ifosfamide and etoposide should be limited to such patients.