EPOCH is an intensive
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 combi ...
intended for
treatment of aggressive
non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredn ...
.
It is often combined with
rituximab
Rituximab, sold under the brand name Rituxan among others, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and types of cancer. It is used for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (in children and ad ...
. In this case it is called R-EPOCH or EPOCH-R. The R-EPOCH regimen consists of:
#
Rituximab
Rituximab, sold under the brand name Rituxan among others, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and types of cancer. It is used for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (in children and ad ...
: an anti-
CD20
B-lymphocyte antigen CD20 or CD20 is B lymphocyte cell-surface molecule.
It is a 33-37 kDa non-glycosylated protein. CD20 is expressed on the surface of B-cells from the pre-B phase, the expression is lost in terminally differentiated plasm ...
monoclonal antibody
An antibody (Ab) or immunoglobulin (Ig) is a large, Y-shaped protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily which is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize antigens such as pathogenic bacteria, bacteria and viruses, includin ...
, which has the ability to kill
B cell
B cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are a type of the lymphocyte subtype. They function in the humoral immunity component of the adaptive immune system. B cells produce antibody molecules which may be either secreted or inserted into the plasm ...
s, be they normal or
malignant
Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer.
A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous benign tumor, ''benign'' tumor in that a malig ...
;
#
Etoposide
Etoposide, sold under the brand name Vepesid among others, is a chemotherapy medication used for the treatments of a number of types of cancer including testicular cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, leukemia, neuroblastoma, and ovarian cancer. It is ...
: a
topoisomerase inhibitor from the group of epipodophyllotoxins;
#
Prednisolone
Prednisolone is a corticosteroid, a steroid hormone used to treat certain types of allergies, inflammation, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, and cancers, Electrolyte imbalance, electrolyte imbalances and skin conditions. Some of ...
: a
glucocorticoid
Glucocorticoids (or, less commonly, glucocorticosteroids) are a class of corticosteroids, which are a class of steroid hormones. Glucocorticoids are corticosteroids that bind to the glucocorticoid receptor that is present in almost every vertebra ...
hormone
A hormone (from the Ancient Greek, Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of cell signaling, signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent to distant organs or tissues by complex biological processes to regulate physio ...
that can cause
apoptosis
Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...
and
lysis
Lysis ( ; from Greek 'loosening') is the breaking down of the membrane of a cell, often by viral, enzymic, or osmotic (that is, "lytic" ) mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a ...
of both normal and malignant
lymphocyte
A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the immune system of most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include T cells (for cell-mediated and cytotoxic adaptive immunity), B cells (for humoral, antibody-driven adaptive immunity), an ...
s;
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Oncovin, also known as
vincristine
Vincristine, also known as leurocristine and sold under the brand name Oncovin among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes acute lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, Hodgkin lym ...
: a vinca alkaloid that binds to the
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...
tubulin
Tubulin in molecular biology can refer either to the tubulin protein superfamily of globular proteins, or one of the member proteins of that superfamily. α- and β-tubulins polymerize into microtubules, a major component of the eukaryotic cytosk ...
, thereby preventing the formation of
microtubule
Microtubules are polymers of tubulin that form part of the cytoskeleton and provide structure and shape to eukaryotic cells. Microtubules can be as long as 50 micrometres, as wide as 23 to 27 nanometer, nm and have an inner diameter bet ...
s and
mitosis
Mitosis () is a part of the cell cycle in eukaryote, eukaryotic cells in which replicated chromosomes are separated into two new Cell nucleus, nuclei. Cell division by mitosis is an equational division which gives rise to genetically identic ...
;
#
Cyclophosphamide: an
alkylating antineoplastic agent;
#
Hydroxydaunorubicin, also known as
doxorubicin: an anthracycline antibiotic that is able to
intercalate DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
, damaging it and preventing
cell division
Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...
.
Dosing regimen
This regimen requires the use of prophylactic
antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...
s to prevent
infectious complications, as well as the use of
colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF) from the first day after the end of chemotherapy to the day of full blood count restoration (
ANC > 1000/μL).
There is also an improved version of the regimen. In this version the chemotherapy dose varies from cycle to cycle depending on the patient's ability to tolerate chemotherapy and the degree of
neutropenia and
thrombocytopenia
In hematology, thrombocytopenia is a condition characterized by abnormally low levels of platelets (also known as thrombocytes) in the blood. Low levels of platelets in turn may lead to prolonged or excessive bleeding. It is the most common coag ...
observed in this patient after each cycle. This approach is called "dose-adjusted EPOCH", or "DA-EPOCH" (DA-EPOCH-R, DA-R-EPOCH or R-DA-EPOCH are used when rituximab is included).
Dose change rules are as follows:
Twice a week a full blood count with white blood cell count (WBC) differential is obtained.
Dose escalation above the starting doses in case of good patient's chemotherapy tolerability applies simultaneously to etoposide, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide.
Dose de-escalation below the starting doses in case of poor patient's chemotherapy tolerability applies to cyclophosphamide only.
If the nadir ANC > 500/μL, then the doses of etoposide, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide for the next cycle are all increased by 20% over the doses used in the previous cycle.
If the nadir ANC < 500/μL on one or two blood checks, but ANC rises above 500 at the time of third check (i.e. the duration of
agranulocytosis
Agranulocytosis, also known as agranulosis or granulopenia, is an acute condition involving a severe and dangerous lowered white blood cell count (leukopenia, most commonly of neutrophils) and thus causing neutropenia in the circulating blood. I ...
is less than nine days), and the nadir of
platelet
Platelets or thrombocytes () are a part of blood whose function (along with the coagulation#Coagulation factors, coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping to form a thrombus, blood clot. Platelets have no ...
count is > 25,000/μL, then the dose for the next course will remain the same.
If the nadir ANC < 500/μL for 10 days or more, or if the nadir platelet count at every time falls below 25,000/μL, then the doses of etoposide, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide are reduced by 20% below the doses used in the previous cycle, but doxorubicin and etoposide should not be reduced below the initial dose (dose in first course).
References
{{reflist
Chemotherapy regimens used in lymphoma