Patients suffering from lymphoma (a type of cancer of the white blood cells called lymphocytes) have less chance of cure if they are refractory to initial chemotherapy or relapse after receiving initial chemotherapy when compared to patients who are responsive to and do not relapse following initial chemotherapy. The standard of care, therefore, for these patients is to undergo some form of bone marrow transplant procedure. However, before this can be considered most patients require chemotherapy to control the lymphoma and to determine whether the lymphoma is still sensitive to alternative types of chemotherapy (salvage chemotherapy). Currently used types of salvage chemotherapy require significant periods of inpatient hospitalisation and are associated with significant haematological toxicities (low blood counts with the associated risks of infection and bleeding and the need for blood and platelet transfusions). Two new chemotherapy drugs, vinorelbine and gemcitabine, have both shown encouraging efficacy against lymphoma when used alone for patients with heavily pretreated lymphoma. Furthermore, they can be given in an outpatient setting and are usually not associated with significant haematological toxicity. All the patients participating in this study have been diagnosed with relapsed or refractory lymphoma and have been offered treatment with vinorelbine and gemcitabine as an alternative to inpatient salvage chemotherapy.
