R-ICE Chemotherapy with or without Autologous Transplantation for Elderly Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas.

For patients aged 60 years or older, the treatment of relapsed aggressive B-cell lymphomas remains challenging. The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the results of the R-ICE (rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin, etoposide) protocol alone as compared to R-ICE followed by high-dose chemotherapy with autologous transplantation. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates in 17 patients receiving R-ICE without transplantation were 32% (95% confidence interval (CI): 8.48-55.52) and 35% (95% CI: 11.48-58.52), respectively. Median PFS and OS times were 9 months (95% CI: 2-22) and 12 months (95% CI: 5-19), respectively. In 17 age-matched transplanted patients the respective survival rates were 18% (95% CI: 0.36-35.64) and 24% (95% CI: 4.4-43.6). Median PFS and OS times were 11 months (95% CI: 6-16) and 16 months (95% CI: 13-19), respectively. Thus, R-ICE alone is a reasonable treatment option for elderly patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell lymphomas.