Clinical study of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation combined with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody in non-Hodgkin lymphoma / 白血病·淋巴瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (Rituximab) combined with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (ASCT) in treatment of the patients with B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Methods Twenty-one patients with B-cell NHL(CD20 positive) received ASCT with Rituximab at the dose of 385 mg·m-2·d-1 on day 1 and day 8 of mobilization,and day -1 and day +7 of conditioning regimen. Among the 21 patients receiving chemotherapy before the transplant, five cases achieved complete response (CR), eleven cases achieved partial remission (PR), and 5 cases had the progression of disease (PD) after many cycles of chemotherapy. Results The median follow-up was 24 months (1-68 months) in the present study. No relapse occurred among the 5 patients in CR before the transplant. Only one of the 11 PR patients relapsed 6 months post-transplantation. Three of the 5 PD patients died. Four of 21 cases (19 %) were documented as recurrence and death, the other 17 cases remained alive and disease-free. Both 2-year EFS and OS of these cases were 81%. No harmful effect of Rituximab was observed on the quality and quantity of collected stem cells as well as hematopoietic recovery post SCT. Conclusion The efficacy of ASCT with Rituximab in vivo purging in the patients with B-cell NHL was determined mainly by the disease status before transplant. The approach may be used as consolidation therapy to achieve long-term survival and increase the curable rate for patients in CR before transplant, and as intensification therapy to increase the remission rate and prolong the EFS and OS of the patients in PR. Rituximab did not show any adverse effect on collection and reconstitution of hematopoietic stem cells.