OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of rituximab combined with high-dose chemotherapy supported by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with aggressive B-cell NHL (22 newly diagnosed, 6 relapsed) were enrolled in this study. The high-dose chemotherapy included CHOP regimen (CTX + ADM + VCR + PDN) for the newly diagnosed patients and DICE (DEX + IFO + DDP + VP-16) or EPOCH (VP-16 + PDN + VCR + CTX + ADM) for the relapsed patients. Each patient received infusion of rituximab at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) for four times, on D1 before and on D7 of peripheral blood stem cell mobilization, and on D1 before and D8 after stem cell reinfusion. RESULTS: Complete remission was achieved in all patients after high dose chemotherapy and ASCT. At a median follow-up of 37 months, the estimated overall 4-year survival and progression-free survival rate for all patients were 75.0% and 70.3%, respectively, while both were 72.7% for the previously untreated patients. The therapy was generally well tolerated with few side-effects attributable to rituximab. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that adding rituximab to high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is feasible and may be beneficial for patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and efficacy of rituximab combined with high-dose chemotherapy supported by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with aggressive B-cell NHL (22 newly diagnosed, 6 relapsed) were enrolled in this study. The high-dose chemotherapy included CHOP regimen (CTX + ADM + VCR + PDN) for the newly diagnosed patients and DICE (DEX + IFO + DDP + VP-16) or EPOCH (VP-16 + PDN + VCR + CTX + ADM) for the relapsed patients. Each patient received infusion of rituximab at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) for four times, on D1 before and on D7 of peripheral blood stem cell mobilization, and on D1 before and D8 after stem cell reinfusion. RESULTS: Complete remission was achieved in all patients after high dose chemotherapy and ASCT. At a median follow-up of 37 months, the estimated overall 4-year survival and progression-free survival rate for all patients were 75.0% and 70.3%, respectively, while both were 72.7% for the previously untreated patients. The therapy was generally well tolerated with few side-effects attributable to rituximab. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that adding rituximab to high-dose chemotherapy with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is feasible and may be beneficial for patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Authors: Lawrence G Lum; Archana Thakur; Qin Liu; Abhinav Deol; Zaid Al-Kadhimi; Lois Ayash; Muneer H Abidi; Cassara Pray; Elyse N Tomaszewski; Patricia A Steele; Dana L Schalk; Hiroshi Yano; Alice Mitchell; Melissa Dufresne; Joseph P Uberti; Voravit Ratanatharathorn Journal: Biol Blood Marrow Transplant Date: 2013-03-22 Impact factor: 5.742