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

The addition of rituximabto 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 refractorydisease, the value of adding rituximabto salvage chemotherapy is less clearly defined. This study performed a matched-pair analysis of patients with relapsed or refractoryDLBCL by comparing the combination of dexamethasone, high-dose cytarabineand cisplatin ( DHAP) with rituximabto DHAPalone. Sixty-seven patients with relapsed or refractoryDLBCL were collected from two prospective phase II trials from Germany and Italy. Twenty-three patient pairs treated with either DHAPin combination with rituximabor DHAPalone could be analysed after matching for important prognostic factors. The addition of rituximabto the DHAPregimen 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.