Real-world use and acceptance of biosimilar rituximab in oncology practice in India

Abstract

Background: To describe the treatment patterns, patient characteristics and usage pattern of biosimilar rituximab for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) in India.Methods: This real-world, retrospective, analysis included adult patients receiving biosimilar rituximab between April 2021 and March 2022.Results: A total of 750 patients with NHL who received biosimilar rituximab were included. The most common indications reported in this analysis were diffuse large cell B-cell lymphoma [DLBCL, 64.5% (n=484)], follicular lymphoma, [FL, 23.7% (n=178)], and mantle cell lymphoma [MCL, 5.3% (n=40)]; other subtypes constituted 6.4% of the patients (n=48). The mean age of patients among DLBCL, FL and MCL was 65.5, 55.3 and 57 years, respectively. Across the lymphomas, >90% of the patients received R-chemo as first-line therapy. R-CHOP was the most common regimen across indications.Conclusions: Biosimilar rituximab-based chemotherapy is being adopted in real‑world clinical practice in India for the management of patients with B-cell NHL including DLBCL, FL, MCL and other lymphomas.