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Published on: February 17, 2022
Rituximab for High-Risk, Mature B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Children
Véronique Minard-Colin1, Anne Aupérin1, Marta Pillon1
1From the Departments of Pediatric and Adolescent Oncology (V.M.-C., C.P.) and Clinical Research (G.V.), INSERM Unité 1015 (V.M.-C.), and the Unit of Biostatistics and Epidemiology and INSERM Unité 1018 (A.A.), Gustave Roussy, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France; the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy (M.P.); the Department of Paediatric Haematology, Oncology, and Palliative Care, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge (G.A.A.B.), Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham (K.W.), and the Department of Histopathology, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London (A.W.) - all in the United Kingdom; the Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (D.A.B.); the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain (R.F.D.); the Division of Haematology-Oncology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (S.A.); the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (A.U.); the Center for Cancer and Immunology Research, Children's National Health System and George Washington University, Washington, DC (C.M.B.); Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands (J.Z.); the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary (M.C.); the Department of Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation, Oncology, and Hematology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland (B.K.); the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (A.K.C.); the Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City (R.R.M.); Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia (P.C.A.); and the National Cancer Institute, Center for Global Health, Rockville, MD (T.G.G.).
Background:
Rituximab added to chemotherapy prolongs survival among adults with B-cell cancer. Data on its efficacy and safety in children with high-grade, mature B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are limited.
Methods:
We conducted an open-label, international, randomized, phase 3 trial involving patients younger than 18 years of age with high-risk, mature B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (stage III with an elevated lactate dehydrogenase level or stage IV) or acute leukemia to compare the addition of six doses of rituximab to standard lymphomes malins B (LMB) chemotherapy with standard LMB chemotherapy alone. The primary end point was event-free survival. Overall survival and toxic effects were also assessed.
Results:
Analyses were based on 328 patients who underwent randomization (164 patients per group); 85.7% of the patients had Burkitt's lymphoma. The median follow-up was 39.9 months. Events were observed in 10 patients in the rituximab-chemotherapy group and in 28 in the chemotherapy group. Event-free survival at 3 years was 93.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 89.1 to 96.7) in the rituximab-chemotherapy group and 82.3% (95% CI, 75.7 to 87.5) in the chemotherapy group (hazard ratio for primary refractory disease or first occurrence of progression, relapse after response, death from any cause, or second cancer, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.66; one-sided P = 0.00096, which reached the significance level required for this analysis). Eight patients in the rituximab-chemotherapy group died (4 deaths were disease-related, 3 were treatment-related, and 1 was from a second cancer), as did 20 in the chemotherapy group (17 deaths were disease-related, and 3 were treatment-related) (hazard ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.82). The incidence of acute adverse events of grade 4 or higher after prephase treatment was 33.3% in the rituximab-chemotherapy group and 24.2% in the chemotherapy group (P = 0.07); events were related mainly to febrile neutropenia and infection. Approximately twice as many patients in the rituximab-chemotherapy group as in the chemotherapy group had a low IgG level 1 year after trial inclusion.
Conclusions:
Rituximab added to standard LMB chemotherapy markedly prolonged event-free survival and overall survival among children and adolescents with high-grade, high-risk, mature B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and was associated with a higher incidence of hypogammaglobulinemia and, potentially, more episodes of infection. (Funded by the Clinical Research Hospital Program of the French Ministry of Health and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01516580.).
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