Effects of BCG on peripheral blood counts and drug tolerance of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma receiving combination chemotherapy

✍ Scribed by Brooks, Robert J. ;Jones, Stephen E. ;Gaines, John A.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1978
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 377 KB
• Volume: 5
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0098-1532
• DOI: 10.1002/mpo.2950050102

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Peripheral blood counts and drug dosages were studied in 68 patients with advanced non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, who were assigned at random to receive either chemoimmunotherapy or chemotherapy, in order to determine if Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy lessened myelosuppression or improved drug tolerance. Thirty‐seven patients received CHOP (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, and prednisone) plus BCG, and 31 patients received CHOP plus low‐dose bleomycin. These two treatment groups, similar for important clinical and prognostic factors, were evaluated at courses one, four, and eight of remission induction, by comparison of the following parameters: hemoglobins, hematocrits, platelet counts, white blood‐cell counts (including absolute neutrophil, lymphocyte, and monocyte counts), and dosages of cyclophosphamide and adriamycin. With successive treatment both groups experienced statistically significant progressive declines in the mean values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, total white blood‐cell count, absolute granulocyte and lymphocyte counts, and dosages of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide. These effects of treatment were comparable except for a slightly greater degree of mild anemia in the CHOP‐BCG group (mean hemoglobin ± SEM = 11.7 ± 0.3 gm/dl at course eight compared to 12.7 ± 0.3 gm/dl for the CHOP‐bleomycin group, p = 0.04). Thus, BCG appears to play no beneficial role in lessening myelosuppression resulting from chemotherapy or improving drug tolerance.