Potential for Prolonged Disease-free Survival Following Combination Chemotherapy of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

The evaluation of the results of CVP and MOPP chemotherapy in 80 patients with advanced stages of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma indicates that 36 (45%) achieved a complete remission. Twenty-eight per cent of the entire group of patients remain free of disease for periods ranging from 4 mo to over 7 yr, with a projected median duration of complete remission of 3½ yr. Significant differences in prognosis relative to histologic categories were found. Well-differentiated and nodular histology were positive determinants for improved median survival, confirming the over-all clinical validity of the Rappaport classification system for the non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. The median survival for patients in the most clinically aggressive subgroups with diffuse histology is inferior to those with nodular patterns or well-differentiated cells. In this study it was demonstrated that it was possible to achieve a significant number of complete remissions even in the most aggressive histologic subgroups using combination chemotherapy, and these responses can be correlated with an extended disease-free survival without further therapy.