Primary bone lymphoma: evaluation of chemoimmunotherapy as front-line treatment in 21 patients

We performed a retrospective investigation to assess the efficacy of chemotherapy and rituximab as front-line treatment for primary bone lymphoma (PBL).

Between 1999 and 2009, 21 previously untreated patients received a diagnosis of PBL. All the patients were treated with anthracycline-containing chemotherapeutic regimens, with the addition of rituximab; 11 patients received consolidative radiation therapy after induction treatment.

Patients' median age was 34 years (range, 18-82 years); all presented with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Complete responses were seen in 95.2% of the patients treated. No relapses were observed at a median follow-up of 43.9 months. Eight-year overall survival and disease-free survival were 95.2% and 100.0%, respectively.

These data indicate that the combined chemotherapy plus rituximab treatment may represent a suitable front-line approach in PBL, with a high rate of responses and an excellent long-term survival.