Chemo regimen can be ‘highly effective’ against ENKTL

The 4-year OS was 43.0±7.3%, and the 4-year PFS was 36.5±6.9%.

There was no significant difference in OS or PFS between the newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory patients (P=0.653 and 0.825, respectively). However, there was a significant difference in PFS and OS between responders and non-responders (P<0.001 for both).

There was a difference in 3-year OS between patients who went on to auto-SCT and those did not, although it did not reach statistical significance (P=0.08). Eleven patients who achieved a CR went on to auto-SCT.

There were no treatment-related deaths. The most common toxicities (occurring in more than 50% of patients) after P-GEMOX were neutropenia (85%), hypoproteinemia (88.3%), anemia (71.6%), fibrinogen decrease (68.3%), and anorexia (53.3%).

The most common grade 3/4 toxicities (occurring in more than 10% of patients) were neutropenia (31.6%), hypoproteinemia (13.3%), and thrombocytopenia (11.7%).

Dr Huang said this research suggests P-GEMOX can be effective for patients with newly diagnosed or previously treated ENKTL. The next step is to investigate which novel agents could be added to the regimen to improve its efficacy.