title: DHAP in combination with rituximab vs DHAP alone as salvage treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a matched-pair analysis.
abstract: The addition of rituximab to chemotherapy in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has been shown to improve outcome in first-line therapy. However, in patients with relapsed or refractory disease, the value of adding rituximab to salvage chemotherapy is less clearly defined. This study performed a matched-pair analysis of patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL by comparing the combination of dexamethasone, high-dose cytarabine and cisplatin (DHAP) with rituximab to DHAP alone. Sixty-seven patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL were collected from two prospective phase II trials from Germany and Italy. Twenty-three patient pairs treated with either DHAP in combination with rituximab or DHAP alone could be analysed after matching for important prognostic factors. The addition of rituximab to the DHAP regimen led to higher complete and similar overall remission rates. However, differences with regard to complete remission rates failed to reach statistical significance, thereby necessitating further evaluation of the role of combined immunochemotherapy in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Bonn, Germany. mey@uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Ulrich J M
authors.initials: UJ
authors.lastname: Mey
authors.forename: Attilio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: Katjana S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Orlopp
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rabe
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Strehl
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gorschlueter
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hensel
authors.forename: Dimitri
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Flieger
authors.forename: Axel G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Glasmacher
authors.forename: Ingo G H
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Schmidt-Wolf
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D000069283:Rituximab; D016879:Salvage Therapy
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D003561:Cytarabine; D000069283:Rituximab; D003907:Dexamethasone; D002945:Cisplatin