Thalidomide Combined with Interferons for the Treatment of Recurrent or Refractory Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

This study examined the clinical efficacy and safety of thalidomide combined with interferons for the treatment of recurrent/refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. We retrospectively analysed the clinical data of 42 patients with recurrent or refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who were treated with a regimen of thalidomide combined and interferon α-1b (IFNα-1b) at Henan Tumour Hospital from July 2007 to January 2017. Specifically, the patients initially received 100 mg thalidomide in tablet form once daily at bedtime. If the patient tolerated the drug, the dose was increased to 200 mg. Recombinant human interferon α-1b was subcutaneously injected at a dosage of 60 μg every other day over a period of four weeks. The efficacy was monitored throughout each treatment cycle, adverse reactions were evaluated, and the progress of the disease was assessed during follow-up visits. Relevant indicators, such as the overall response rate (ORR), the overall survival (OS), the progression-free survival (PFS) for all patients, and the safety of the regimen, were analysed. Forty-two patients were treated with a regimen of thalidomide combined with interferons for at least 1 period. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated for each patient. The objective response rate (CR + PR) was 73.8%. The median overall survival time was 28 months and the median progression-free survival (PFS) time was 21 months. According to the standards of lymphoid malignancies classified by the WHO in 2001, 36 patients were diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, 24 of whom suffered from recurrent or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). The combination of thalidomide and interferons improved the conditions of 16 MCL patients, 8 of whom experienced CR and 8 of whom experienced PR. The median OS was 28 months, and the median PFS was 19 months for the patients with MCL. The primary adverse effects of the regimen were drug-induced fever and joint pain caused by the IFN and neurotoxicity and constipation caused by the thalidomide. The adverse reactions ranged in severity from degree I~II and could be alleviated by symptomatic treatment. Serious adverse reactions, such as anaphylactic shock, deep vein thrombosis and bradycardia, did not occur.