Combination Chemotherapy Followed by Donor Stem Cell Transplant in Treating Patients With Relapsed or High-Risk Primary Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to response to prior therapy and risk factors (those with presence of all 3 risk factors and failed primary therapy or primary progressive disease vs. patients who relapse more than 100 days after an autologous stem cell transplant).

Salvage chemotherapy (IGV or MOPP): Patients who have previously received mechlorethamine hydrochloride receive IGV; patients who have previously received a gemcitabine-based regimen receive MOPP.

IGV (ifosfamide, gemcitabine hydrochloride, and vinorelbine ditartrate): Patients receive IGV combination chemotherapy comprising ifosfamide IV on days 1-4, gemcitabine hydrochloride IV on days 1 and 4, and vinorelbine ditartrate IV on day 1. Treatment repeats every 2-3 weeks for 2-3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
MOPP (mechlorethamine hydrochloride, vincristine, procarbazine hydrochloride, and prednisone): Patients receive MOPP combination chemotherapy comprising mechlorethamine hydrochloride IV on days 1 and 8, vincristine IV on days 1 and 8, oral procarbazine hydrochloride on days 1-14, and oral prednisone on days 1-14. Treatment repeats every 4 weeks for at least 2 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients with no progression of disease after salvage chemotherapy (at allograft work-up) proceed to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation [AHSCT]* within 60 days after completion of salvage chemotherapy.

NOTE: *Patients with a nodal mass > 5 cm that has not ben previously irradiated and in the absence of extranodal disease may undergo involved-field radiotherapy twice daily for 2 weeks, prior to AHSCT.

AHSCT with reduced-intensity or non-myeloablative conditioning: Patients achieving partial response or stable disease after salvage therapy receive fludarabine phosphate IV over 30 minutes on days -6 to -2; melphalan IV over 15 minutes on days -6 and -5; and undergo AHSCT on day 0 (reduced-intensity conditioning). Patients achieving complete response after salvage therapy receive fludarabine phosphate IV over 30 minutes on days -6 to -2; cyclophosphamide IV over 15 minutes on day -6; total-body irradiation over 20-30 minutes on day -1; and undergo AHSCT on day 0 (non-myeloablative conditioning).
Graft-vs-host disease prophylaxis: Patients with related or unrelated donors receive cyclosporine IV over 2-4 hours or orally on days -3 to 100 followed by a taper, mycophenolate mofetil IV or orally on days -3 to 46 followed by a taper, and methotrexate IV on days 1, 3, 6, and 11.

Patients who received umbilical cord blood receive cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil as above (no methotrexate).

Follow-up period of 2 years post-transplant.