CVP
Meaning of CVP: Three drug initials that have outlasted one of the drug names they stand for, and three letters that mean something else entirely elsewhere.
Definition of CVP
CVP is a chemotherapy combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine and prednisone, given in repeated cycles for slow-growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The letters come from the drug names, with V taken from vincristine under its old brand name Oncovin. The same three letters are also used, in a completely unrelated sense, to abbreviate central venous pressure.
What does each drug contribute?
| Letter | Drug | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| C | Cyclophosphamide | Damages DNA so dividing cells cannot copy it |
| V | Vincristine | Blocks the fibers that pull chromosomes apart during division |
| P | Prednisone | A steroid that is directly toxic to lymphocytes |
The logic behind combining them is that each attacks a different point, so a cell resistant to one is not automatically resistant to the others, and the side effects overlap less than the effects on the tumor do. Prednisone is unusual in the group because it kills lymphoid cells outright rather than merely interfering with division, which is why steroid drugs appear in almost every lymphoma regimen.
How does it compare with the regimens around it?
CHOP is the same backbone with doxorubicin added, and it hits harder at the cost of heart toxicity, so it is used for aggressive disease while CVP is chosen where the disease is indolent or the person could not tolerate an anthracycline. Adding the antibody rituximab to either gives R-CVP and R-CHOP, and that addition changed outcomes in non-Hodgkin lymphoma more than any change to the chemotherapy drugs themselves.
What are the characteristic side effects?
Each drug carries its own signature. Cyclophosphamide can irritate the bladder lining and suppresses the marrow. Vincristine damages peripheral nerves, causing numbness and tingling that starts in the fingers and toes and limits how much can be given, and it is severely damaging if it leaks outside a vein. Prednisone brings sleeplessness, raised blood sugar, mood change and, over repeated cycles, thinning of bone.
Why do the same letters mean something else?
In intensive care and anesthetics, CVP stands for central venous pressure, the pressure in the large vein entering the heart, measured through a line and used as a rough guide to how full the circulation is. Nothing connects the two uses, and context is what separates them: a regimen given in cycles against a lymphocytic leukemia, or a number recorded in millimeters of mercury.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The patient completed six cycles of CVP without dose reduction.
Good to know
The V comes from Oncovin, an old brand name for vincristine, and the same three letters abbreviate central venous pressure in critical care, a use with no relation to chemotherapy.