Weekly rituximab consolidation following four cycles of R-CHOP induction chemotherapy in very elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: Consortium for improving survival of lymphoma study (CISL)

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the objective response, toxicity, and clinical outcome of weekly rituximab consolidation after four cycles of R-CHOP21 in very elderly patients with DLBCL. A prospective, multi- institutional phase II trial was conducted on patients with previously untreated CD20 + DLBCL who were older than 70 yr. Patients were treated with four cycles of R-CHOP21 followed by weekly consolidation with rituximab (375mg/m 2 , four times infusion) (NCT01181999). We also compared the clinical outcomes with an historical case-matched control group treated conventionally with six cycles of R-CHOP21. A total of 51 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL were enrolled at 15 institutes between June 2010 and September 2013. The median age was 76 yr (range: 70–89). Forty-one of the 51 patients completed the planned rituximab consolidation (R-consolidation). The overall response rate was 78.4%, comprising 74.5% with a complete response and 3.9% with a partial response. After a median follow-up of 20.3 months, 2- yr progression-free survival and overall survival were 63.9% and 68.7%, respectively. No serious toxicities were reported during rituximab consolidation. Weekly rituximab consolidation following four cycles of R- CHOP21 resulted in an acceptable response with high tolerability and could be a good compromise between efficacy and safety for elderly patients with DLBCL. Key words elderly; diffuse large B-cell lymph oma; rituximab consolidation Correspondence Deok-Hwan Yang, MD, PhD, Department of Hematology-Oncology, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, 322 Seoyangro, Hwasun, Jeollanamdo 519-763, Korea. Tel: 82-61-379-7636; Fax: 82-61-379-7628; E-mail: drydh1685@hotmail.com Accepted for publication 30 September 2014