Comparison of liposomal Doxorubicin and Epirubicin in the treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of pegylated liposomal Doxorubicin(PLD)and Epirubicin(EPI)as first-line chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:Clinical data of DLBCL patients treated at Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from March 2013 to April 2018 were retrospectively collected.A total of 411 patients who had received first-line chemotherapy were included.Based on age, sex, Ann Arbor staging and other parameters and using the PSM method for 1∶1 matching, 151 patients were assigned into each of the PLD group and the EPI group.Efficacy and adverse events were compared between the PLD group and the EPI group.All patients were followed up for 3 years after treatment to monitor survival.Results:The complete response(CR)rate in the PLD group was 81.5%, and the CR rate in the EPI group was 72.2%.The objective response rate(ORR)of the PLD group was 98%, and the ORR of the EPI group was 96.7%.There was no significant difference in CR rate( χ2=0.478, P=0.489)or ORR between the two groups( χ2=0.007, P=0.934). In the PLD group, myelosuppression occurred in 25 cases(16.6%)and cardiotoxicity-related events in 21 cases(13.9%); in the EPI group, there were 24 cases(15.9%)of myelosuppression and the same number of cases of cardiotoxicity-related events, and there were no significant differences in myelosuppression( χ2=0.018, P=0.895)or cardiotoxicity( χ2=0.174, P=0.677)between the two groups.During the 3-year follow-up, the progression free survival(PFS)rates of the PLD group and the EPI group were 79.1% and 69.6%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups( χ2=3.930, P=0.047). Both the PLD group and the EPI group had a 3-year OS rate of 85.2%, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups( χ2=0.402, P=0.538). Conclusions:The 3-year progression-free survival of DLBCL patients with PLD as first-line chemotherapy is significantly better than with EPI, and the 3-year overall survival, short-term efficacy and myelosuppression are comparable to those with EPI.