BCVPP Chemotherapy for Advanced Hodgkin's Disease: Evidence for Greater Duration of Complete Remission, Greater Survival, and Less Toxicity Than with a MOPP Regimen

Results of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Study

  1. RICHARD F. BAKEMEIER, M.D.;
  2. JAMES R. ANDERSON, Ph.D.;
  3. WILLIAM COSTELLO, Ph.D.;
  4. GARY ROSNER, M.S.;
  5. JOHN HORTON, M.B., Ch.B.;
  6. JOHN H. GLICK, M.D.;
  7. JOHN D. HINES, M.D.;
  8. COSTAN W. BERARD, M.D.; and
  9. VINCENT T. DeVITA, Jr., M.D.
  1. Rochester and Albany, New York; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; and Bethesda, Maryland

    Abstract

    Two chemotherapy regimens for treatment of patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease, BCVPP (carmustine, cyclophosphamide, vinblastine, procarbazine, and prednisone) and MOPP (mechlorethamine hydrochloride, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone), were compared in a randomized prospective study. Two hundred ninety-three patients were evaluable in the induction phase of this study. The complete remission rate with BCVPP was 76% (112/147) and with MOPP, 73% (106/146) (p = 0.51). The duration of complete remissions for previously untreated patients given BCVPP was significantly longer than that for previously untreated patients given MOPP (p = 0.02). Although hematologic toxicities were similar, BCVPP caused less gastrointestinal (p = 0.0001) and neurologic toxicity (p = 0.01) than MOPP. Previously untreated patients achieving complete remission with BCVPP survived significantly longer than those receiving MOPP (p = 0.03). As primary induction chemotherapy for advanced Hodgkin's disease, BCVPP is an effective alternative to MOPP, having equal or greater therapeutic benefit with less toxicity.

    Article and Author Information

    • ▸From the University of Rochester Cancer Center, Rochester, New York; Sidney Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts; Albany Medical College, Albany, New York; Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio; St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee; and National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.

    • This study was conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (Paul P. Carbone, M.D., Chairman; CA 21115) and supported by Public Health Service grants from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services. Participating institutions include: University of Rochester Cancer Center, Rochester, New York (CA 11083); Sidney Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts (CA 23318); Albany Medical College, Albany, New York (CA 06594); Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CA 15488); Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (CA 14548); St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York (CA 14958); University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; American Oncologic Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CA 18281); Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts (CA 20182); Brookdale Hospital Center, Brooklyn, New York; Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island (CA 15947); Chicago Medical School, Chicago, Illinois (CA 14144); Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CA 13611); University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida; Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CA 14215); Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, Maryland (CA 16116); Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (CA 13650); University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota (CA 20365); New York University Medical Center, New York, New York (CA 16395); Northwestern University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois (CA 17145); University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CA 13613); University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (CA 18653); Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois (CA 10948); University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa (CA 21692); SUNY—Stony Brook, Veterans Administration Hospital, Northport, New York (CA 20161); Tufts University, Walpole, Massachusetts (CA 07190); Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia (CA 10572).

    • ▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Richard F. Bakemeier, M.D.; University of Rochester Cancer Center, 601 Elm wood Avenue, Box 704; Rochester, NY 14642.

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    1. Ann Intern Med October 1, 1984 vol. 101 no. 4 447-456
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