High-dose rituximab in combination with autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed or refractory diffuse large...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of high-dose rituximab (HD-R) in combination with autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

There were 22 patients in the HD-R group, to whom rituximab was administered during stem cell mobilization (375mg/m² 1 day before and 7 days after chemotherapy) and after transplantation (1000mg/m² on days +1 and +8). In the control group, the procedure was the same as that in the HD-R group but without rituximab. We observed the safety, tolerability, adverse effects and immune reconstitution of HD-R therapy. The log-rank test, univariate analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate the effect of HD-R on survival.

In total, 22 relapsed or refractory DLBCL patients were treated with HD-R. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed except for CD19⁺ B cell reconstruction in the first 6 months after SCT. There were 20 relapsed or refractory DLBCL patients in the control group. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) greatly improved in the HD-R group compared to that in the control group (63.8% vs. 35.0%, P=0.028 and 80.1% vs. 50.0%, P=0.035, respectively). The univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that HD-R and the time to relapse were independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS.

HD-R in combination with auto-SCT is a feasible and promising treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL.