The effect of pre-irradiation dose intense CHOP on anthracyline resistance in localized nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma.

We treated 17 patients with localized, nasal NK/T-cell lymphoma with two cycles of dose-intense CHOP (DI-CHOP) and early involved field radiation (IFRT). Sixteen out of 17 patients were evaluable for response. After two cycles of DICHOP, nine patients achieved complete remission (CR) (53%) and six had partial remissions (35%). After IFRT, 13 patients achieved CR (CR rate 76%; 95% CI, 56%-96%). The 3-year progression-free and overall survival rates were 56%, and 67%, respectively. This study shows that anthracycline-based chemotherapy seems to be ineffective in decreasing systemic failure even when administered at maximal dose intensity.