Managing Neutropenia During ABVD for Hodgkin Lymphoma

In this small study, therapy-induced neutropenia did not substantially affect patient outcomes in patients who did not receive cytokine support.

ABVD (doxorubicin [Adriamycin], bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine) chemotherapy is a standard regimen for treating patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL); 6 to 8 cycles usually are given for advanced-stage disease, and fewer cycles, in combination with radiotherapy, are prescribed for patients with early-stage disease. During therapy, neutropenia occurs in most patients, necessitating dose reductions or delays in treatment, which can negatively affect dose intensity and lower the expected high cure rate. Although concurrent cytokine therapy with a myeloid growth factor, such as filgrastim, can help maintain neutrophil counts, higher rates of bleomycin pulmonary toxicity in conjunction with growth factor administration have been reported (J C…

Reviewing Author

Michael E. Williams, MD