Rituximab does not adversely affect the stem cell mobilization and engraftment after high-dose therapy and autologous transplantation in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in first complete or partial remission.
OBJECTIVE
The goal was to investigate the effect of prior combined rituximab (R) and intensive chemotherapy on peripheral blood stem cell mobilization and their engraftment after stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in 69 patients with poor-risk, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).


RESULTS
A statistically comparable median number of CD34+ stem cells was collected in both groups (13.80x10(6)/ kg in the non-R group and 7.81x10(6)/kg in the R group; p = 0.110). A trend toward greater number of CFU-GM was found in the non-R group (98.1x10(4)/kg) compared to the R group (76.6x10(4)/kg; p = 0.068). The non-R patients had a much higher median number of BFU-E (90.9x10(4)/kg) than the R patients (31.3x10(4)/kg; p = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Hematopoietic engraftment was rapid for both groups and no different between them. The 3-year event-free survival was 90.4 % in the R group and 67.2 % in the non-R group (p = 0.04), but there was no significant difference in the 3-year overall survival (94,7 % vs 83,5 %; p = 0.179).
Department of Hemato-oncology, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Tomas
T
Papajik
Zuzana
Z
Pikalova
Ludek
L
Raida
Ivana
I
Skoumalova
Jana
J
Vondrakova
Edgar
E
Faber
Vit
V
Prochazka
Zuzana
Z
Kubova
Ladislava
L
Kucerova
Tomas
T
Pavlik
Ladislav
L
Dusek
Karel
K
Indrak
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006085:Graft Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D019650:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization; D006801:Humans; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D000069283:Rituximab; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab