Thirty-six consecutive patients with advanced recurrent Hodgkin's disease resistant to chemotherapy with mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP) were treated with doxorubicin (Adriamycin), bleomycin, (dacarbazine) DTIC, (lomustine) CCNU, and prednisone (ABDIC). Among the 34 patients evaluable for response, complete remission occurred in 35% and partial remission in 35%. The achievement of complete remission during primary MOPP induction was a statistically significant prognostic factor that predicted complete remission with ABDIC (p less than 0.01). The median time to complete remission was 2 months (range 1-11 mo). The median relapse-free survival time for complete responders is 47 months, and an estimated 53% of all patients who achieve complete remission are projected to be alive, free of disease off therapy at 3 years from initiation of ABDIC. The median survival of all patients is 24 months. The median survival of complete responders, partial responders, and nonresponders is 70, 17, and 4 months, respectively. The survival curve for complete responders is significantly different from that for partial responders (p less than 0.01); the survival curve for partial responders is also significantly different from that of nonresponders (p less than 0.01). Toxicity of ABDIC was acceptable; only one patient died from complications of myelosuppression. Our results indicate that ABDIC is a potentially curative regimen for a fraction of patients with MOPP-resistant Hodgkin's disease who achieve complete remission with prior MOPP therapy. It also prolongs the survival of patients who do not achieve complete remission with prior MOPP therapy.
