Treatment strategies for aggressive lymphomas: what works?

Over the past 30 years, many treatment platforms have been developed for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, but none proved better than CHOP (cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, prednisone/prednisolone). In the immunochemotherapy era, however, there is convincing evidence for superior chemotherapy platforms. A randomized study from the Groupe d'Etude des Lymphomes de l'Adulte showed that R-ACVBP (rituximab plus doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vindesine, bleomycin, prednisone) was superior to rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP) in patients under 60 years of age, but toxicity limits its use to younger patients. Studies also suggest that DA-EPOCH-R (dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, rituximab) is more effective in some subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and a randomized comparison with R-CHOP is now nearing completion. The simplicity and safety of R-CHOP and the long history of failed contenders, however, has set a high bar for new approaches.