This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hall, T. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hall, T. C.

New Chemotherapeutic Agents in Hodgkin's Disease¹

The Children's Cancer Research Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts

There is a need for new agents and drug combinations in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease.

Several interesting new agents have been introduced into each of the conventional categories of tumor drugs, including streptonigrin and etiocholanolone. The relative lack of use of some of the older antimetabolites and sex steroids is due for re-examination. This may shed light on a rational basis for choosing agents to use on cell types with long life-spans and low mitotic rates.

There is a need for preclinical pharmacologic information on animal tumors which more closely resemble human lympho-proliferative tumors in terms of long life-span of the cell, marked and acquired resistance to alkylating agents.

High dose corticoid therapy in Hodgkin's disease appears to be more effective than in acute leukemia and should be more widely used. The substituted vinca alkaloids have shown practical and theoretical promise in dealing with the difficult phenomenon of acquired drug resistance. The methylhydrazine derivative, ibenzmethyzine, represents a new class of effective agents.

Combination therapy has demonstrated effectiveness in prolonging remissions and there are theoretical reasons to investigate the possibility of prolonging remissions even further by such methods.

¹ Supported in part by USPHS Grants C-6516 and Ca 04739 and Contract PH 43-62-169.