Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Older Patients With Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the complete remission (CR) rate and duration of CR in frail elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell or peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone. * Determine the time to progression and overall survival of patients treated with this regimen. * Determine the severe toxicity rate of this regimen in these patients. * Assess the quality of life of patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive cyclophosphamide IV and vincristine IV on day 1 and oral prednisone on days 1-5. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 3 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients with stage I or II non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), no baseline lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) elevation, baseline WHO performance status 0-1, and longest tumor diameter of less than 5 cm, who achieve partial response (PR) or complete response (CR), receive 1 additional course of chemotherapy. Patients then undergo involved-field radiotherapy once daily 5 days a week for 3.5-4 weeks. Patients with stage I or II NHL, a baseline LDH elevation, and/or baseline WHO performance status 2-4, and/or longest tumor diameter of at least 5 cm, who achieve PR or CR, receive 3 additional courses of chemotherapy. Patients then undergo involved-field radiotherapy once daily 5 days a week for 3.5-4 weeks. Patients with stage III or IV NHL who achieve CR or PR receive 3 additional courses of chemotherapy. Patients then undergo consolidative radiotherapy once daily 5 days a week for 2.5-3 weeks. Quality of life is assessed at baseline, after the third chemotherapy course, at the end of chemotherapy, every 6 months for 3 years, and then annually thereafter. Patients are followed every 3 months for 3 years, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually thereafter. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 29-56 patients will be accrued for this study within 12-18 months.