PVAG (Prednisone, Vinblastine, Doxorubicin and Gemcitabine) In Elderly Patients with Intermediate or Advanced Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma: Final Results of a Phase II Study of the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG).

Abstract

AbstractAbstract 2827About 20% of all patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are older than 60 years. These patients have a rather poor prognosis, particularly when presenting in intermediate or advanced stages. Besides a biologically more aggressive disease, the main reason is a drastically increased toxicity of chemo- and radiotherapy resulting in a higher treatment-related mortality and insufficient dosing of the applied treatment. In the GHSG-HD9 trial, elderly patients did not benefit from the BEACOPP regimen in terms of overall survival due to a high toxicity related death rate. In order to improve tolerability, the PVAG regimen (prednisone, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and gemcitabine) was developed. This is a modification of the ABVD regimen in which bleomycin and dacarbazine were replaced by prednisone and gemcitabine. Here we report for the first time on the final analysis of this multi-center phase II study for elderly HL patients.61 patients were recruited between 2004 and 2007. 2 patients were excluded due to histology review not confirming HL, resulting in 59 patients with intermediate- or advanced-stage HL aged between 60 and 75 years. Treatment consisted of 6 cycles PVAG in patients achieving a complete remission (CR) after 4 cycles or 8 cycles PVAG in case of partial remission (PR) after 4 cycles. Patients who did not achieve CR after the end of chemotherapy received additional radiotherapy. Primary endpoints were administration of adequate dose without excessive delays, and response rate 3 months after end of treatment. Secondary endpoints included WHO grade III/IV toxicities, and occurrence of early progression.59 patients with a median age of 68 years were evaluated, of which 59% were male and 93% had advanced stage disease.The relative dose intensity (relative dose divided by relative chemotherapy duration) was at least 80% in 44 patients (76%). Regarding the single cycles, of which 85% started without major delay (max. 1 day), the mean relative dose of all agents was slightly decreasing over time but always exceeded 90%.WHO grade III/IV toxicities were documented in 43 patients (75%). Only 3 patients terminated CT because of excessive toxicity. 10 Patients (17%) received consolidating radiotherapy.In total, 46 patients responded with CR/CRu (78%; 95% CI: 65% to 88%), 2 with PR (3%), 2 with no change (3%) and 4 with progressive disease (7%). 3 patients died before restaging with unknown response and in 2 patients treatment outcome is unknown. With a median observation time of 37 months, 6 patients (10%) had progressive disease and 9 patients (15%) relapsed. In total, 10 patients died from relapsing or progressing HL, 2 from second malignancies (one of lung cancer after 23 months, and one of AML after 25 months) and 5 patients due to other reasons. Overall 17 patients (29%, 95% CI: 18% to 42%) have died so far.In conclusion, PVAG is safe and feasible in Hodgkin patients older than 60. The PFS indicates activity of this regimen in this poor prognosis patient cohort. However, a controlled randomized trial to determine the best treatment in this patient population is warranted.This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00147875. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.