Safety of Rituximab combined with intensive chemotherapy in the treatment of childhood aggressive mature B-cell lymphoma/leukemia / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the safety of Rituximab combined with intensive chemotherapy in the treatment of aggressive mature B-cell lymphoma/leukemia in children.Methods:The clinical data of 77 patients with primary pediatric aggressive mature B-cell lymphoma/leukemia who were treated according to the Chinese Children Cancer Group(CCCG)-mature B-cell lymphoma(BNHL)-2015 protocol at Shanghai Children′s Medical Center, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University School from November 1, 2014 to July 31, 2018 were collected.A comparison was drawn on the adverse reactions and recovery of immune function indexes between patients in the Rituximab combined with intensive chemotherapy group (R4 group) and the chemotherapy alone group (R3 group).Results:Rituximab combined with AA was associated with a significantly lower platelet count [79.5%(35/44 cases) vs.54.5%(24/44 cases), χ2=6.223, P=0.011] and a higher incidence of infection [70.5%(31/44 cases) vs.36.4%(16/44 cases), χ2=10.275, P=0.001] compared with AA alone; Rituximab combined BB was associated with a higher incidence of mucositis and infection compared with BB alone [40.8%(20/49 cases) vs.29.3%(22/75 cases) and 85.7%(42/49 cases) vs. 72.0%(54/75 cases), respectively], but the differences were not statistically significant.A greater proportion of patients in the R4 group had a decrease in peripheral blood CD 19 positive cells (no statistically significant difference, P>0.05) and a greater proportion had a decrease in serum IgG ( P<0.05) compared to the R3 group, but there was no significant difference in treatment-related mortality between both groups.For patients in the R4 group, the average recovery time of IgG and IgM level was 13.1 months, and the longest recovery time was 31 months after the end of treatment. Conclusions:Rituximab combined with intensive chemotherapy is generally safe in the treatment of aggressive mature B-cell lymphoma/leukemia in children.However, it is often accompanied with prolonged immunoglo-bulin deficiency and the potential risk of secondary infection.Therefore, the strict control over the indications for its application is required, and the gamma globulin replacement therapy deserves to be investigated in the future.