Drug shortage linked to greater risk of relapse in young Hodgkin lymphoma patients

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/sumc-ds122112.php

Public release date: 26-Dec-2012
Contact: Robert Dicks
Stanford University Medical Center

STANFORD, Calif. — A national drug shortage has been linked to a higher rate of relapse among children, teenagers and young adults with Hodgkin lymphoma enrolled in a national clinical trial, according to research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Estimated two-year cancer-free survival for patients enrolled in the study fell from 88 to 75 percent after the drug cyclophosphamide was substituted for mechlorethamine for treatment of patients with intermediate- or high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma. The study was launched before the drug shortages began. The change occurred after a mechlorethamine shortage began in 2009. No study patients have died, but those who relapsed received additional intensive therapy that is associated with higher odds for infertility and other health problems later.

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Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph system and accounts for about 6 percent of childhood cancers. In the United States, about 90 percent of patients will become long-term survivors.

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