14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists have experimented a new method of treating Hodgkin's lymphoma, using more intense chemotherapy and less radiation and found out that it does not overcome the results of the standard radiation along with ABVD chemotherapy.
This is the first-of-its-kind randomized study that wanted to see if a lower dose of radiation (that would reduce the side effects) is as effective as the regular dose, when associated with the standard chemotherapy in treating Hodgkin's lymphoma patients at an early and intermediate-stage of the disease.
The experiment concluded that a more intensive chemotherapy (BEACOPP) is also less effective that the standard treatment (ABVD) in the case of these patients.
The standard treatment for intermediate-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma patients is chemotherapy followed by radiation.
These patients have the disease located in one or more lymphatic nodes, on the same side of the diaphragm, and they present a high risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body.
The purpose of this randomized study was to identify the most effective dose of radiation for some patients, as well as the appropriate form of chemotherapy, that would have the most chances of decreasing the risk of cancer spreading.
The researchers established four treatments techniques: the standard chemotherapy regime and radiation dose, the standard chemotherapy with a lower radiation dose, a more intensive chemotherapy treatment with the standard radiation dose and the more intensive chemotherapy with a lower radiation dose.
Between 1998 and 2003, the researchers assigned the 1,395 patients with early Hodgkin's lymphoma to the four groups, randomly.
At the end of the study, the results confirmed that the standard treatment (ABVD with the standard dose of radiation therapy) was the most effective for these patients.
Also, the more intensive chemotherapy (BEACOPP) proved to be less effective for these patients, than the standard chemotherapy.
Hans Theodor Eich, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the University of Cologne, in Cologne, Germany, said that “this confirms that four cycles of ABVD, followed by 30 Gy involved field radiation therapy, should continue to be the standard treatment for early intermediate-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma patients.
"Prior to the study, it was unclear what the optimal chemotherapy regimen and the most effective dose of radiation was."
Normally, cure rates for people suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma are quite high, this being one of the reasons for which the researchers keep experimenting for a new treatment with fewer side effects.
The study will be presented at the plenary session, November 1, 2010, of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).