Abstract
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). 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. 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. 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.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
