Osteonecrosis of the femoral head in patients with lymphoma treated with intermittent combination chemotherapy (including corticosteroids)

Four adult patients with malignant lymphoma were treated with combination chemotherapy including an alkylating agent, vincristine, procarbazine (in all but one case), and intermittent high-dose prednisone. Twenty to 42 months after initiation of therapy, osteonecrosis of the femoral head developed. This was bilateral in two patients and unilateral in two, and presumably represented a complication of steroid administration, even though three of the patients received only 4 to 6 weeks of therapy. Necrosis of bone may be a low-frequency long-term complication of combination chemotherapy in lymphoma.