Some studies suggest that using 500 mg/m2 rituximab combined with a regimen of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone every 14 days (CHOP-14) may be an effective therapy for elderly men with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The researchers of a study published in Cancer Medicine sought to assess the potential benefit of escalated doses of rituximab with CHOP every 21 days (CHOP-21) as the first-line treatment in male patients with DLBCL.
This retrospective cohort study analyzed the survival benefit of rituximab 500 mg/m2 plus CHOP-21 (escalated R-CHOP-21) versus rituximab 375 mg/m2 plus CHOP-21 (standard R-CHOP-21) in 96 elderly men with DLBCL. The primary study endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) at three years.
According to the results, patients receiving the escalated dosing had statistically significant survival benefits relative to standard dosing, including three-year PFS (75.5% versus 58.2%; P = 0.019) and 3-year OS (86.6% versus 65.8%; P = 0.017). Furthermore, the researchers noted the dose effect of escalated R-CHOP-21 was more obvious in PFS for elderly male patients with no high-risk extranodal sites (P = 0.005; interaction P = 0.030).
“Escalated R-CHOP-21 could be a safe and effective option for treating elderly male patients with DLBCL. This study provides new insight into optimizing the standard treatment regimen, which may have important therapeutic implications in elderly male patients with DLBCL,” the researchers concluded.
