BEACOPP is a

chemotherapy regimen A chemotherapy regimen is a regimen for chemotherapy, defining the drugs to be used, their dosage, the frequency and duration of treatments, and other considerations. In modern oncology, many regimens combine several chemotherapy drugs in combinat ...

for treatment of

Hodgkin lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

developed by the German Hodgkin Study Group used for patients in Stages > II or early (IA or IB) with unfavorable risk factors. Patients typically receive treatment in cycles of 21 days with no drugs given on days 15–21. There also exists a more intensive regimen with cycles of 14 days. Usually a course of BEACOPP therapy consists of four, sometimes six to eight cycles, or in combination with ABVD. In some countries BEACOPP still is experimental, in others (e.g.

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

) it is a standard therapy. In the United States,

ABVD ABVD is a chemotherapy regimen used in the first-line treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma, replacing the older MOPP protocol. It consists of concurrent treatment with the chemotherapy drugs: * Adriamycin (also known as doxorubicin/ hydroxydaunorubicin, ...

(or

Stanford V Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

) is generally given instead, because BEACOPP is perceived by practicing oncologists to have the potential to induce more secondary neoplasias (such as leukemias). However, the final results from the GHSG HD14 trial indicate that "there were no overall differences in treatment-related mortality or secondary malignancies" of BEACOPP relative to ABVD. Oncologists in the US have also used the BEACOPP regimen relatively less for cost reasons: * Twice as many infusion per cycle relative to

; * Requirement for

G-CSF Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF or GCSF), also known as colony-stimulating factor 3 (CSF 3), is a glycoprotein that stimulates the bone marrow to produce granulocytes and stem cells and release them into the bloodstream. Functional ...

support, which was under patent protection in the US as late as 2013 (as Neupogen by Amgen), while that patent protection expired in the EU in 2008; * Higher likelihood of adverse events requiring hospitalization, such as infection or acute toxicity; However, BEACOPP delivers approximately 7% points success relative to ABVD for early unfavorable Hodgkin's disease (as measured five-year freedom from treatment failure) and 12% points greater success relative to ABVD for advanced Hodgkin's disease (Stage IIB with risk factors or stages III and IV) as measured by seven-year freedom from treatment failure. Predecessors of BEACOPP were COPP and (the earliest) MOPP.

Dosing regimen

References

{{Reflist Chemotherapy regimens used in lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma

Dosing regimen

See also

References