Rituximab induction immunotherapy for first-line low-tumor-burden follicular lymphoma: survival analyses with 7-year follow-up.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to report long-term results of rituximab induction monotherapy in patients with low-tumor-burden follicular lymphoma (LTBFL).


METHODS
Of 49 first-line LTBFL patients who received weekly doses of rituximab (375 mg/m(2)), 46 have been followed with a long-term analysis of clinical and molecular responses.


RESULTS
Best clinical response (at any staging within a year following treatment) was 80%, 24 (52%) patients had complete or unconfirmed complete response, 13 (28%) had partial response and 9 (20%) had stable or progressive disease. Of 31 patients having a positive bcl2-JH rearrangement, 15 (48%) became negative following treatment. After 83.9 months of follow-up (95% confidence interval 6.4-92.8 months), the median progression-free survival is 23.5 months and overall survival (OS) is 91.7%. Five patients died (one progression, one myelodysplasia, one diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and two solid tumors). Seven patients (15%) are progression-free including five who are bcl2 informative. No unexpected long-term adverse event has been observed.


CONCLUSIONS
A significant proportion of patients remain progression-free 7 years after a single 4-dose rituximab treatment in first-line LTBFL. The 7-year overall survivalOS is very high in this selected population of patients.
Department of Hematology and Cellular Therapy, Bretonneau University hospital, Tours. Electronic address: colombat@med.univ-tours.fr.
P
P
Colombat
Department of Pathology, Necker University hospital, Paris.
N
N
Brousse
Department of Hematology/Oncology, Lyon Sud University hospital, Pierre-Bénit.
G
G
Salles
Department of Hematology, Claude Huriez University hospital, Lille.
F
F
Morschhauser
Department of Hematology, Saint-Louis University hospital, Paris.
P
P
Brice
Department of Medicine, Bergonie Institute, Bordeaux.
P
P
Soubeyran
Department of Hematology, Poitiers University hospital, Poitiers.
V
V
Delwail
Department of Hematology, Jean Minjoz University hospital, Besançon.
E
E
Deconinck
Department of Hematology, Henri Mondor University hospital, Creteil.
C
C
Haioun
Department of Hematology, Hôtel Dieu University hospital, Angers.
C
C
Foussard
Department of Medical Oncology, Léon Bérard Center, Lyon.
C
C
Sebban
Department of Oncology, Henri Becquerel Center, Rouen.
H
H
Tilly
Department of Hematology, Saint-Louis University hospital, Paris.
C
C
Thieblemont
Department of Hematology, Roche, Neuilly-sur-Seine.
L
L
Bergougnoux
Department of Hematology, Roche, Neuilly-sur-Seine.
F
F
Lazreg
Oncoradiotherapy and Hematology center, Jean Bernard Center, Le Mans, France.
P
P
Solal-Celigny
D000328:Adult; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D060828:Induction Chemotherapy; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D000069283:Rituximab; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000069283:Rituximab