This study analyzed the long-term results in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) who were resistant or refractory to conventional chemotherapy and who were treated with intensive, non-myeloablative chemotherapy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as hematological support. The study population included 86 patients who were treated with combination chemotherapy with high doses: BCNU, 300 mg/m2, on day 1, vincristine 1.4 mg/m2, and bleomycin 10 mg/m2 on days 1, 7, 14 and 21; etoposide 500 mg/m2, i.v., on days 14 and 15; and ifosfamide 4 g/m2, and epirubicin 180 mg/m2, on day 29. G-CSF 5 ug/kg/day, was used to ameliorate severe myelosuppression on days 3 to 13, 16 and 26 and 29 to 38. If a complete response was observed, two cycles of IOPP (ifosfamide 1.5 g/m2, i.v., on days 1 and 8; vincristine 1.4 mg/m2, i.v. on days 1 and 8; prednisone 60 mg/m2, p.o., daily, days 1 to 14 and procarbazine 100 ng/m2, p.o., daily, days 1 to 14 vere given as consolidation therapy. At 8-years, the overall survival rate vas 58% (50 out of 86 patients) being 38 and 76% in patients whose initial complete response was shorter or longer that 12 months, respectively or in 44% of induction failures. Hematological toxicity grade III or IV was observed in all cycles. However hematological recovery was already evident (median on day 13). Only transitory delay in continuing therapy was observed (median 3.9 days). Twenty-two patients developed infection-related granulocytopenia but no therapy related deaths were observed. G-CSF was well tolerated. This study indicates that the hematopoetic growth factor, G-CSF, was sufficient to act as hematological support in patients who received intensive, but non-myeloablative chemotherapy. In our opinion intensive chemotherapy without autologous transplant procedures can be considered in patients with refractory Hodgkin's disease because complete response rate and overall survival times are similar to more aggressive but more toxic regimens.