S0350 Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Stage II, Stage III, or Stage IV Peripheral T-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine 2-year overall survival of patients with newly diagnosed, bulky stage II or stage III or IV peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with cisplatin, etoposide, gemcitabine, and methylprednisolone. Secondary * Determine the toxicity of this regimen in these patients. * Determine the response rate (complete unconfirmed response, complete response, and partial response) in patients treated with this regimen. * Determine progression-free survival of patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a pilot, multicenter study. Patients receive cisplatin IV over 30-60 minutes, etoposide IV over 30-60 minutes, and methylprednisolone IV over 5 minutes on days 1-4. Patients also receive gemcitabine IV over 30-60 minutes on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed at 3-6 weeks, 3 months, and then every 6 months for up to 3 years. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 55 patients will be accrued for this study within 3 years.