Prospective randomized study comparing MEMID with a chop-like regimen in elderly patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Objective: This multicenter phase III study compared the MEMID regimen (mitoxantrone, VP16, methylglyoxal, ifosfamide and dexamethasone) with CEOP, a CHOP-like regimen (cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, vincristine and prednisone), in elderly patients (>= 65 years) with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Methods: One hundred and forty-nine patients were eligible, 72 in the MEMID arm and 77 in the CEOP arm. The primary end-point was to compare overall survival (OS) between groups, and secondary endpoints were event-free survival (EFS), response rate and toxicity. Results: Neutropenia (p < 10(-5)), anemia (p < 10(-5)) and thrombocytopenia (p = 0.0006) were significantly more frequent in patients who received MEMID. We observed an objective response rate of 55.5% in the MEMID arm and 64.9% in the CEOP arm (p = 0.24). The median OS and EFS were 15.4 and 8.5 months in the MEMID arm, and 20.3 and 10.5 months in the CEOP arm (p = 0.59 and 0.47), respectively. The median EFS was 15.4 months in the MEMID arm and 20.3 months in the CEOP arm (p = 0.59). Conclusion: The increased toxicity without survival benefit confirms the superiority of CHOP and CHOP-like regimens for elderly patient with aggressive NHL. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.