Dose-dense and high-dose chemotherapy plus rituximab with autologous stem cell transplantation for primary treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a poor prognosis: a phase II multicenter study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We investigated the addition of rituximab to dose-dense and high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with untreated poor-prognosis diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Design and methods

Ninety-four young patients (age, 18-60) with stage III-IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma at intermediate/high or high risk according to the age-adjusted International Prognostic Index were enrolled into a phase II trial. The treatment was as follows: four courses of bi-weekly rituximab-cyclophosphamide-epirubicin-vincristine-prednisone (R-MegaCEOP14), two courses of rituximab-mitoxantrone-cytarabine-dexamethasone (R-MAD) and carmustine-etoposide-cytarabine-melphalan (BEAM) with autologous stem cell transplantation.

Results

The complete response

SUBMITTER: Vitolo U 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2738717 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature