 ESHAP etoposide, methylprednisolone, cisplatin, cytosine arabinoside chemotherapy was invented in 1994. The regimen was aimed to salvage NHL patients who were relapsing or refractory to front-line, mostly doxorubicin-based, chemotherapy.Major toxicities were myelosuppression; 30 of the patients developed febrile neutropenia and was admitted for parenteral antibiotics. Treatment-related deaths, mostly from uncontrolled sepsis, occurred in 4 of the patients. Because of its efficacy and tolerable toxicities, at present, ESHAP is one of the salvage chemotherapy regimens most frequently administered to patients especially prior to autologous stem cell transplantation. 