Purpose and methods: Between December 1984 and August 1992, 423 patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin's disease (HD) were entered onto a randomized clinical trial that compared the regimen of mechlorethamine, vinblastine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MVPP) with a doxorubicin-containing hybrid regimen (chlorambucil, vinblastine, procarbazine, and prednisone/etoposide, vincristine, and doxorubicin [ChlVPP/EVA]). Median age for the group was 29.5 years (range, 15.2 to 68.8), and 52% had bulk disease.
Results: After chemotherapy, patients in the hybrid arm of the trial had a higher complete remission (CR) rate (68.1% v 55.3%) and a lower failure rate (2.4% v 12.5%) than those in the MVPP arm. There were also fewer deaths during treatment in the hybrid arm of the trial (five v 13). With a median follow-up period for survivors of 4.5 years (range, 0 to 9), actuarial 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) for all cases is 80% in the hybrid arm and 66% in the MVPP arm (P = .005). A nonsignificant trend toward a better overall survival in the hybrid arm of the trial has also been identified.
Conclusion: These results suggest that ChlVPP/EVA hybrid is superior to MVPP in the treatment of HD. It has therefore been adopted as standard first-line therapy at the two centers.