A Phase II Study of DAB 389 IL-2, an Interleukin-2 Fusion Toxin, for Previously Treated Stage II, III, and IV Follicular Low-Grade Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine the objective response rate in patients with previously treated stage I, II, III, or IV low- or intermediate-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with denileukin diftitox. II. Determine the time to progression, duration of remission, and time to treatment failure in patients after treatment with this therapy. III. Determine the toxicity of this therapy in these patients. IV. Correlate the results of the inteleukin-2 receptor assay with treatment outcomes in these patients.

OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to interleukin-2 receptor classification (positive vs negative). Patients receive immunotoxin therapy with denileukin diftitox IV over 15-60 minutes on days 1-5. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 2-6 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients are followed every 3 months for 2 years, every 6 months for 3 years, and then annually thereafter.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 33 patients will be accrued for the interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor-positive stratum and a total of 11-44 patients will be accrued for the IL-2 receptor-negative stratum.