IMVP-16/Pd followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation as a salvage therapy for refractory or relapsed peripheral T-cell lymphomas.

The present study aimed to analyse the treatment outcome of IMVP-16/Pd (ifosfamide, methotrexate, etoposide and prednisone) followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDC/ASCT) for patients with peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs) who were previously treated with CHOP. Since 1995, 32 PTCL patients were treated with IMPV-16/Pd. Nine of 32 patients achieved a response (5 demonstrating complete response (CR) and 4 partial response), with an overall response rate of 28.1% (95% onfidence interval 0.12-0.45). Considering histopathologic subtypes, 3 of 4 relapsed natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma patients (75%) achieved CR, but only 1 of 6 in non-NK/T-cell lymphoma patients (16.7%) achieved CR (P = 0.19). Six of 9 IMVP-16/Pd sensitive patients underwent HDC/ASCT. Three of them relapsed after 3, 4 and 15 months, respectively, of HDC/ASCT. Estimated 3-year overall survival and progression-free survival rates were 14.2% and 12.2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that responsiveness to first-line CHOP was a significant prognostic factor (P < 0.05). These results indicate that IMVP-16/Pd followed by HDC/ASCT appears to be an effective salvage regimen, especially for NK/T-cell lymphoma.