diffuse large b cell lymphoma survival rate

Conditioning treatment using Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan and high-dose BEAM followed by autologous stem cell transplantation showed encouraging response and promising survival rates in patients with lymphoma D


Although the chances of survival of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma may have been improved by combining treatment with rituximab with chemotherapy, a significant number of patients continue to not reach a response Complete, or relapse. The standard treatment for patients with refractory or recurrent lymphoma is remedial chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell grafting.

However, patients suffering from a chemotherapy-refractory disease have unsatisfactory results, demonstrating a 20% rate for survival without progression of three years, while obtaining marginal benefits from the transplant.

The need to develop more effective treatments to help these patients led Dr. Briones and his colleagues to examine whether a standard dose of Y-ibritumomab Tiuxetan, an anti-CD20 radiolabelled monoclonal antibody acting against non- Large-cell Hodgkin B, would be effective treatment for patients with DLBCL if combined with a large dose of BEAM-based chemotherapy followed by ASCT.

The response rate following the combined treatment of 90Y-ibritumomab Tiuxetan was 70%, with a complete response in 18 patients (60%) and a partial response in 3 patients. In addition, the expected 3-year overall survival rate and the non-progression survival rate were 63% and 61%, respectively. Patients showing a partial response at the time of autologous stem cell transplantation obtained 80% for overall 3-year survival and 3-year progression-free survival, while this rate was 80% for refractory patients after Chemotherapy. In addition, this treatment seemed safe, did not appear to aggravate the toxicity of BEAM conditioning treatment, and did not increase the risk of treatment related to myelodysplastic syndromes or acute myeloid leukemia (LMA).

The results of this study are very encouraging for the development of new treatments resulting in better response rates and promising survival rates in this group of patients with diffuse broad cell lymphoma B recurrent for which the prognosis is, in general, very negative.