Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, and Dexamethasone in Treating Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin's Lymphoma

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the response rate and maximum response in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with gemcitabine, cisplatin, and dexamethasone.
• Determine time to progression in patients treated with this regimen who are not undergoing stem cell transplantation.
• Determine the toxicity of this regimen in these patients.

OUTLINE: This is an open-label study.

Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 1 hour on days 1 and 8, cisplatin IV over 3 hours on day 1, and oral dexamethasone twice daily on days 1-4. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed until disease progression.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 18-35 patients will be accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma
• Measurable disease by radiological or clinical findings
• Failed at least 1, but no more than 2, prior standard chemotherapy regimens

• High-dose chemotherapy administered after a chemotherapy course is considered 2 courses
• No evidence of CNS disease
• No history of myelodysplastic syndromes

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

• Over 18

Performance status

• ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

• Not specified

Hematopoietic

• WBC > 2,000/mm^3
• Absolute neutrophil count > 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count > 75,000/mm^3
• Hemoglobin > 8.0 g/dL

Hepatic

• Bilirubin < 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• AST and ALT < 5 times ULN

Renal

• Creatinine < 1.5 times ULN

Other

• Not pregnant or nursing
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception during and for 3 months after study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

• Not specified

Chemotherapy

• See Disease Characteristics
• No prior gemcitabine
• More than 6 months since prior high-dose chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

• Not specified

Radiotherapy

• Not specified

Surgery

• Not specified