Rituximab with dose-adjusted EPOCH as first-line treatment in patients with highly aggressive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and autologous stem cell transplantation in selected patients.

AIM: To assess the benefit of rituximab with dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin (R-DA-EPOCH) regimen as a first-line treatment for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) presenting with unfavorable or aggressive features, and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as a part of the first-line treatment for selected DLBCL patients with additional aggressive features.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 75 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients with Ki-67+≥80% or International Prognostic Index ≥2 who were treated with R-DA-EPOCH between 2005 and 2015. Of 24 DLBCL patients with additional aggressive features (Ki-67+≥90% or age-adjusted IPI≥2) who were planned to receive consolidation with ASCT, 17 patients underwent the procedure. We determined the overall response rate (ORR), complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), 5-year overall survival (OS), and progression free survival (PFS) in all DLBCL patients and specifically those planned to receive ASCT.

RESULTS: All 75 patients included in the analysis started one or more cycles of therapy. The ORR, CR, and PR rates were 80%, 55%, and 25%, respectively. The response was non-evaluable in 10 of 75 patients due to treatment discontinuation. The OS and PFS rates for all 75 patients were 70% and 61%, respectively, and 80% and 79%, respectively, for 24 planned-to-receive-ASCT patients. Age (≤65 vs >65 years) had no prognostic impact on OS and PFS (P=0.994 and P=0.827, respectively).

CONCLUSION: Our retrospective analysis of one of the largest DLBCL patient cohorts outside the US National Cancer Institute showed that R-DA-EPOCH is a very effective therapeutic option as a first-line treatment of DLBCL patients with unfavorable prognostic features irrespective of their age. ASCT provided additional benefit for DLBCL patients with additional aggressive features.