EPOCH chemotherapy Plus Rituximab for

Relapsed AIDS-associated non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

(Treatment protocol 97-C-0040)

Patients with Relapsed AIDS-associated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (AIDS-NHL) are being recruited for a clinical trial to test infusional chemotherapy with EPOCH combined with the monoclonal antibody rituximab. EPOCH is an infusional chemotherapy regimen which has been tested in non-AIDS-lymphoma and has been shown to be well tolerated and active in treating NHL. EPOCH contains 5 drugs called etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin. Three of the drugs are administered as outpatient infusions over 4 days. Experimental studies suggest that these 4-day infusions may be more effective against NHL and less toxic compared to standard delivery. We are testing rituximab in combination with EPOCH because laboratory studies suggest that rituximab may make tumor cells more sensitive to chemotherapy, and preliminary results combining standard lymphoma therapy with rituximab have had encouraging results in non-AIDS lymphomas. This study is open to patients who have recurrent AIDS-NHL after having already been treated for lymphoma up to twice before.

For more information, please contact Dr. Richard Little at 301.496.8959 , 800.243.2732, extension 4, Dr. Wyndham Wilson at 301.435.4215 or Nicole Drbohlav, RN 301.594.2947