OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of liposomal doxorubicin together with etoposide and high dose methylprednisolone (DEP) as a salvage therapy for adult refractory hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

METHODSTotal 41 patients with refractory HLH were enrolled in this study. The efficacy of treatment with DEP regimen after 2 and 4 weeks were evaluated according to the United States Midwest Cooperative HLH Group.

RESULTSOf 41 refractory HLH patients, 28 were males and 13 females. The median age was 31(18-62) years old. The overall response rate (ORR) was 78.1%(32/41), including 12 patients (29.3%) achieved complete remission (CR) and 20 (48.8%) achieved partial remission (PR). The underlying disease of HLH were identified in 33 patients, including 1 case of primary HLH (CR), 20 cases of lymphoma associated HLH and 12 cases of EBV associated HLH. There were still 8 cases with unknown underlying disease. The 9 patients who had no response to DEP died within 2 to 4 weeks after salvage therapy. Twenty of the 32 patients who achieved PR or CR survived to undergo subsequent chemotherapy, allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) or splenectomy.

CONCLUSIONThe single-arm study suggested that DEP regimen appeared to be an effective salvage protocol for adult patients with refractory HLH.