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 2827

About 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.