High-Dose Corticoid Therapy in Hodgkin's Disease and other Lymphomas

Abstract

Forty patients with advanced Hodgkin''s disease and 17 with other malignant lymphomas were treated with high doses (over 45 mg per day) of prednisone or its corticoid equivalent. (This treatment followed relapse or the development of prohibitive toxicity while on other drugs or irradiation.) Sixteen of the 24 patients with Hodgkin''s disease and 5 of the 17 patients with other lymphomas had objective remissions of disease. Remissions were accompanied by subjective improvement and were of substantial duration. Bacterial infections were not more frequent than would be expected in advanced lymphoma, but oropharyngeal moniliosis was increased in frequency. Side effects were mild, dose-related and controllable. The use of high-dose corticoids is recommended in patients with Hodgkin''s disease who are refractory to the more commonly used agents, or in whom leuko-penia prevents the use of myelosuppressive agents.