Abstract
BACKGROUND: Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas are the eighth-most prevalent malignancy in females and the eleventh in males. No research has been conducted comparing dexamethasone, cytarabine cisplatin (DHAP) vs. ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide (ICE) as salvage chemotherapy regimens for relapsed or refractory lymphomas in Pakistan. This study aims to compare the response of ICE vs. DHAP as salvage chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory lymphomas. METHODS: A prospective follow-up study was conducted at the tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, from 2019 to 2020. A total of 58 lymphoma patients after first-line chemotherapy were included in the study. The treatment response was evaluated after two cycles of salvage chemotherapy using WHO assessment criteria, and Cox regression was used to determine the hazard ratios considering the P value ≤0.05 significant. RESULTS: Of 58 patients, 19 (32.8%) patients achieved complete response (CR), and 8 (13.8%) patients achieved partial response (PR), with an overall response rate of overall response rate of 46.6%. In the ICE group, the response was assessed in 19 patients. Overall response was 42.1%, CR was 31.6% and PR was 10.5%. In the DHAP group, response was evaluated in 39 patients, the overall response rate was 48.7%, CR was 33.3% and PR was 15.4%. The hazard ratio for survival in patients with relapsed/refractory lymphomas who received DHAP was 1.40 times (95% CI: 1.27-3.63, P=0.001) compared to patients who received ICE as salvage chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: DHAP seems to have a marginally better overall response rate than the ICE regimen in patients with refractory or relapsed lymphoma. However, the toxicity profile of patients in both groups was similar.