Comparison of Ifosfamide, Carboplatin and Etoposide versus Etoposide, Steroid, and Cytarabine Cisplatin as Salvage Chemotherapy in Patients with Refractory or Relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Refractory or relapsed Hodgkin’s disease (HD) occurs in 10‑50% of patients. The treatment of choice for these patients is high‑dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Response to salvage chemotherapy (SCT) partial remission (PR) is necessary before HDCT with ASCT. However, its applicability is restricted mostly to patients responding to salvage chemotherapy. Optimal salvage regimen for these patients is unclear. In this study, our aim was to compare the efficacy profiles of ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide (ICE) and etoposide‑ steroid‑cytarabine‑cisplatin (ESHAP) (cytosine arabinoside, cisplatin, and dexamethasone) regimens in the salvage treatment of relapsed or refractory HD.

In this retrospective analysis, 114 patients with primary refractory or relapsed HD who received ICE or ESHAP salvage regimen were included.

Of 114 patients, 47 (41.2%) were females and the median age was 31.5 years. Response could be evaluated in 114 patients. Of 114 patients, 38 (33%) achieved complete remission (CR) and 21 (18.4%) achieved PR, leading to an overall response rate (ORR: CR + PR) of 51.4%. In the evaluable ICE group (n = 41), rates of CR, PR, and ORR were 21.9%, 17.1%, and 39% and in the ESHAP group (n = 73), rates of CR, PR, and ORR were 39.7%, 19.2%, and 58.9% (for ORR, P = 0.04), respectively.

In patients with relapsed or refractory HD, treatment with ESHAP seems to have higher rates of response than ICE regimen does.