Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Phase II Trial of Doxorubicin, Vinblastine, and Gemcitabine (AVG) Chemotherapy for Non-Bulky Stage I and II Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Brief Summary: RATIONALE: Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as doxorubicin, vinblastine, and gemcitabine, work in different ways to stop cancer cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. Combining more than one drug may kill more cancer cells.

PURPOSE: This phase II trial is studying how well combination chemotherapy works in treating patients with newly diagnosed stage I or stage II Hodgkin's lymphoma.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Histologically confirmed Hodgkin's lymphoma of the classical type (nodular lymphocyte predominance excluded).
* Stage IIB-IV.
* Age 18-70.
* No prior therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma
* Written informed consent.
* ECOG performance status grades 0-3 (see Appendix E).
* FDG-PET scan before the initiation of treatment.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Prior therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma.
* Age less than 18 or more than 70.
* Other concomitant or prior malignancies, except basal cell skin carcinoma, or adequately treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix, or any cancer in complete remission for more than 5 years.
* HIV infection.
* Pregnancy or breast-feeding.
* Renal failure (creatinine ≥2 times the normal value), liver failure (AST/ALT or bilirubine ≥ 2.5 times the normal value) or heart failure (NYHA class ≥ 2 or FEV \< 45%).
B: 1. Documentation of Disease:

   1.1 Histologically documented Hodgkin lymphoma subclassified according to the WHO modification of the Rye Classification and staged according to the modified Ann Arbor Staging Classification system. Patients must have clinical stage IA, IB, IIA or IIB. Patients with "E" extensions will be eligible if all other criteria have been met. Nodular lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin lymphoma is excluded.
   * Core biopsies are acceptable if they contain adequate tissue for primary diagnosis and immunophenotyping. Fine needle aspirate (FNA) cytologies and bone marrow biopsies as the sole means of diagnosis are not acceptable.
   * Note: Failure to submit pathology slides within 60 days of patient registration will result in patient being declared ineligible.

   1.2 Patients may not have a mediastinal mass \> 0.33 maximum intrathoracic diameter on standing postero-anterior chest x-ray or peripheral or retroperitoneal adenopathy \> 10 cm in its largest diameter.

   1.3 Bone marrow biopsy is required for pretreatment evaluation. Bilateral biopsies are preferred but not required.
2. No prior treatment (chemotherapy or radiation therapy) for Hodgkin lymphoma.
3. Measurable disease must be present either on physical examination or imaging studies. Any tumor mass measurable in two dimensions and \> 2 cm is acceptable (or 1.5 cm if 0.5 cm slices are used as in spiral CT scans). Lesions that are considered intrinsically non-measurable include the following:

   * bone lesions
   * leptomeningeal disease
   * ascites
   * pleural/pericardial effusion
   * inflammatory breast disease
   * lymphangitis cutis/pulmonis
   * abdominal masses that are not confirmed and followed by imaging techniques
   * cystic lesions
   * lesions that are situated in a previously irradiated area
4. Age ≥ 16 years
5. Performance status 0-2
6. LVEF by ECHO or MUGA within institutional normal limits
7. DLCO ≥ 60% with no symptomatic pulmonary disease
8. No known HIV infection. Patients with a history of intravenous drug abuse or any behavior associated with an increased risk of HIV infection should be tested for exposure to the HIV virus. Patients who test positive or who are known to be infected are not eligible due to an increased risk of infection with this chemotherapy regimen. An HIV test is not required for entry on this protocol, but is required if the patient is perceived to be at risk.
9. Non-pregnant and non-lactating. Due to the teratogenic potential of the agents used in this study, pregnant or nursing women may not be enrolled. Women and men of reproductive potential should agree to use an effective means of birth control.
10. Initial Required Laboratory Data:

    * ANC ≥ 1000/μL
    * Platelet count ≥ 100,000/μL
    * Serum Creatinine ≤ 2 mg/dL
    * Bilirubin ≤ 2 mg/dL
    * AST ≤ 2 x upper limit of normal
C: DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed Hodgkin's lymphoma

  * No nodular lymphocyte-predominant subtype (nodular paragranuloma)
* Supradiaphragmatic Ann Arbor clinical stage I or II disease
* Must meet criteria for 1 of the following prognostic subsets:

  * Unfavorable subset, defined as meeting 1 of the following criteria:

    * Clinical stage II disease with ≥ 4 nodal areas involved

      * Mediastinum and hili are considered as 1 nodal area
    * Age ≥ 50 years
    * Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) ≥ 50 mm/hr with no B symptoms
    * ESR ≥ 30 mm/hr with B symptoms
    * Mediastinum/thoracic (MT) ratio ≥ 0.35
  * Favorable subset, defined as meeting all of the following criteria:

    * Clinical stage I disease OR stage II disease with ≤ 3 involved areas
    * Age \< 50 years
    * ESR \< 50 mm/hr (no B symptoms) OR ESR \< 30 mm/hr (B symptoms present)
    * MT ratio \< 0.35
* Previously untreated disease
* Planning to undergo fludeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography after the first 2 courses of study chemotherapy

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* WHO performance status 0-3
* Bilirubin ≤ 2.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Creatinine ≤ 2.5 times ULN
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No severe cardiac, pulmonary, neurologic, psychiatric, or metabolic disease
* No unstable diabetes mellitus
* No other malignancies within the past 5 years except for basal cell skin cancer or adequately treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix
* No known HIV infection
* No psychological, familial, sociological, or geographical condition that would preclude study compliance

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* Not specified
D: DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically confirmed classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) meeting the following criteria:

  * Meets current WHO classification criteria (i.e., nodular sclerosis, mixed cellularity, lymphocyte rich, and lymphocyte-depleted)
  * Clinical stage IIB, III, or IV disease OR clinical stage IIA disease with adverse features, including any of the following:

    * Bulk mediastinal disease, defined as maximal transverse diameter of mass \> 0.33 of the internal thoracic diameter at D5/6 interspace on routine chest x-ray
    * Disease outside the mediastinum and lymph node or lymph node mass \> 10 cm in diameter
    * More than two sites of disease
    * Other poor-risk features that require treatment with full course combination chemotherapy
* Newly diagnosed disease
* No CNS or meningeal involvement by lymphoma

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

* ECOG performance status 0-3
* Life expectancy \> 3 months
* ANC \> 1,500/mm\^3 (unless there is bone marrow infiltration by lymphoma)
* Platelet count \> 100,000/mm\^3 (unless there is bone marrow infiltration by lymphoma)
* Creatinine \< 150% of upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Bilirubin \< 2.0 times ULN (unless attributed to lymphoma)
* Transaminases \< 2.5 times ULN (unless attributed to lymphoma)
* LVEF ≥ 50% (in patients with a significant history of ischemic heart disease or hypertension)
* Diffusion capacity within 25% of normal predicted value by lung function testing
* Not pregnant or nursing
* Negative pregnancy test
* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* Amenable to the administration of a full course of chemotherapy, according to the investigator
* Must have access to PET/CT scanning
* No poorly controlled diabetes mellitus
* No cardiac contraindication to doxorubicin hydrochloride, including abnormal contractility by ECHO or MUGA
* No neurological contraindication to chemotherapy (e.g., pre-existing neuropathy)
* No other concurrent uncontrolled medical condition
* No other active malignant disease within the past 10 years, except fully excised basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix
* No known positivity for HIV, hepatitis B surface antigen, or hepatitis C

  * Routine testing, in the absence of risk factors, is not required
* No medical or psychiatric condition that compromises the patient's ability to give informed consent

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

* No prior chemotherapy, radiotherapy or other investigational drug for HL

Answer: B