Second treatment with rituximab in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: efficacy and toxicity on 41 patients treated at CHU-Lyon Sud

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the effect of a second treatment with rituximab for patients who progressed after a response to a first treatment. We analysed the charts of 41 patients treated at CHU Lyon-Sud between 1997 and May 2003. Patients were treated with rituximab alone or with a combination of rituximab and chemotherapy. The overall response rate (complete and partial response) was 73% for the second treatment. The median time to progression was longer but not significant for the second treatment in comparison with the first one (15.2 versus 11.3 months, P = 0.09). The second treatment was well tolerated. Thus, a second treatment with rituximab should be considered, alone or in combination with chemotherapy, for patients who progress after a first response to rituximab.