CAPE/PALE salvage chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease patients relapsing within 1 year of ChlVPP chemotherapy.

Background: Patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease failing to achieve complete remission with chemotherapy or developing disease progression within 1 year have a poor prognosis with salvage chemotherapy.
Patients and Methods: Twenty-five patients fulfilling the above criteria after failing treatment with ChlVPP (chlorambucil, vinblastine, procarbazine and prednisolone) or its variant were treated with a new salvage regimen CAPE/PALE (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, prednisolone, etoposide and lomustine), given for 6 courses at three weekly intervals.
Results: Thirteen of the 25 patients (52%) achieved complete remission. After a minimum follow-up period of 38 months five of these patients remained free from disease progression. This regimen was very well tolerated.
Conclusions: CAPE/PALE produces results comparable to other salvage regimens in Hodgkin's disease. New strategies are however required for this patient group.