[Cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, bleomycin and prednisolone (CHOP-Bleo) combination chemotherapy for advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma].

Nineteen patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (stages III and IV) receiving no prior chemotherapy were treated with a combination of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, bleomycin and prednisolone (CHOP-Bleo) at Saitama Cancer Center between January 1977 and February 1979. The overall complete response rate was 11 of 19 or 50%, with 8 of 13 or 62% of patients with diffuse mixed and large cell type of NHL. The median survival for all patients was 41 months. The survival curve of complete responders became flat at 41 months and was well sustained with an actuarial survival of 72%. The survival of patients with stage III was significantly better than those with stage IV (p less than 0.05), while the survival of patients with Waldeyer's ring primary was not significantly superior to patients with nodal primary. A major complication during CHOP-Bleo regimen was myelosuppression, and peripheral neuropathy and reversible interstitial pneumonitis (2 cases) were also observed.