OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study was to compare the safety and efficacy profiles of R-CHOP and R-fCHOP regimes in the treatment of primary gastric diffuse large B cell lymphoma (PG-DLBCL).

METHODSData of PG-DLBCL patients admitted in our hospital from March 2010 to March 2014 were collected retrospectively. Differences in gastrointestinal bleeding and perforation between the R-CHOP group and R-fCHOP group were compared. The influence of the gastrointestinal complication on subsequent treatment was also analyzed. Treatment outcome of the two groups was also compared.

RESULTSA total of 50 patients were included in this retrospective study. Forty of them were in the R-CHOP group, another ten were in the R-fCHOP group. Patients in the R-fCHOP group had a higher rate of Lugano late stage disease, and a relatively high rate of a deeper/larger ulcer. Fence occult blood test (FOBT) was positive in one (10.0%) patient in the R-fCHOP group, and 11 (31.4%) patients in the R-CHOP group, among them one had hematemesis and had to give up the subsequent chemotherapy. No perforation was observed in both groups. The response rate (RR) was 92.5% in the R-CHOP group and 90.0% in the R-fCHOP group (P > 0.05). The PFS was also comparable between the two groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSR-fCHOP regimen has a good safety profile in patients with Lugano late stage and deep/large ulcers, who are of high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding or perforation, and also has a comparable efficacy profile when compared with the R-CHOP regimen in short-term follow-up.