Comparison Between CHOP and DAEPOCH with or Without Rituximab in Adult High Grade B Cell Lymphoma, Not Otherwise Specified; A Retrospective Study From a Tertiary Cancer Hospital in South India.

Lymphoma that on morphology appear blastoid or intermediate between DLBCL and BL but who lack myc and bcl-2 and/or bcl-6 rearrangements are grouped under high grade B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified (HGBL, NOS). Only a few studies have yet compared the outcome of HGBL, NOS treated with different chemo-immunotherapy regimens. HGBL, NOS patients were analyzed retrospectively, who were treated with CHOP or DAEPOCH regimens every 21 days for six cycles with or without rituximab. The primary clinical objective was progression free survival. One and two year PFS rates were 29.4% and 20.6% for the CHOP arm and, 65.2% and 47.8% for the DAEPOCH arm respectively. There was statistically significant difference in mean PFS between the arms (DAEPOCH vs CHOP: 19.7 months vs 12.8 months; HR = 0.44, p = 0.02, 95% CI: 0.22-0.88). One and two year OS rates were 91.1% and 20.5% for the CHOP arm and 95.6% and 60.8% for the DAEPOCH arm respectively. Mean OS was significantly better for DAEPOCH arm (28.1 months vs 20.7 months: HR = 0.43, p = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.20-0.92). Grade 3 and 4 hematological and non-hematological toxicities were more common in DAEPOCH arm. There were 2 treatment related deaths, 1 in each arm (4.3% for DAEPOCH vs 2.9% for CHOP). HGBL, NOS is a heterogeneous group of aggressive lymphoma associated with early relapse in nearly half of the cases. Intensive regimens like DAEPOCH is associated with improved outcome in terms of PFS and OS. Though toxicities are more with DAEPOCH, they are manageable and treatment related mortality is low. © Indian Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion 2021.