RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Second line salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is the current standard treatment for eligible patients with relapsed and refractory (R/R) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Several salvage regimens have been used before ASCT. However the optimal salvage regimen is still unclear. We report outcome of patients with R/R HL treated with gemcitabine, cisplatin, and dexamethasone (GDP) regimen before ASCT in this retrospective study aiming at evaluating efficacy, stem cell mobilization activity and safety of GDP in a real-life setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-five patients with R/R HL who were treated with GDP as salvage and mobilization regimen before ASCT were analyzed retrospectively. Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) were collected after GDP. All patients underwent ASCT after 2 cycles of GDP. RESULTS: Thirty-six (80%) patients achieved overall response including 24 (53.3%) complete response (CR). PBSC collections were adequate in all patients with a median number of 11.01 × 106/kg CD34+ cells. The most common grade 3/4 hematological adverse events were thrombocytopenia (31.1%) and neutropenia (22.2%). There were no febrile neutropenic episodes. Grade 3 or 4 renal, hepatic, or cardiac toxicity was not observed. The 4 year progression-free survival and overall survival for patients receiving GDP followed by ASCT were 72% and 92%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that GDP is a viable therapeutic option before ASCT with high response rate, favorable toxicity profile and excellent mobilization potential. Applicability of GDP on an outpatient setting also provides advantage over other effective salvage regimens.