Aged ; Bendamustine Hydrochloride ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lymphadenopathy ; diagnosis ; Lymphoma ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Male ; Rituximab ; therapeutic use

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the efficacy of cyclophosphamideplus, epirubicin, vincristine, prednisone plus etoposide and/or bleomycin, with or without rituximab (R±BEACOP) regimen in patient with poor-prognosis lymphoma.
 METHODS: A total of 89 patients, who had poor-prognosis lymphoma and received at least 1 cycle of R±BEACOP regimen during 2002 to 2012, were enrolled and analyzed by a retrospective study.
 RESULTS: The rate of complete response was 62.9% (56 patients). The efficacy of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and T/NK NHL was better than that of other types of lymphoma. There was no significant difference in efficacy among the patients with different age, stage or international prognosis index (IPI) (all P>0.05).
 CONCLUSION R±BEACOP regimen is effective in some patients with poor prognosis, especially in HL patients. Thus, multicenter prospective study regarding the R±BEACOP regimen needs to be done to further test its efficacy.
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Bleomycin ; therapeutic use ; Cyclophosphamide ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; therapeutic use ; Etoposide ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; classification ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Procarbazine ; therapeutic use ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab ; therapeutic use ; Vincristine ; therapeutic use

BACKGROUND: To compare the efficacy and safety of dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin plus rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) with standard rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) in Waldeyer's ring diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (WR-DLBCL) at a single institution. METHODS: This retrospective study included 115 newly diagnosed patients with WR-DLBCL, of whom 68 patients received R-CHOP, and 47 patients received DA-EPOCH-R as their first-line treatment. The baseline features of the two groups were well balanced using a 1:1 propensity score matching method, and a total of 84 cases were obtained, including respective 42 cases in the R-CHOP and DA-EPOCH-R groups, for further survival and prognosis analysis. The primary objectives included progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 45 months, there were nine (21.4%) deaths in the R-CHOP group and two (4.8%) in the DA-EPOCH-R group. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed statistically significant improvements in PFS and OS in patients with DA-EPOCH-R compared with those treated with R-CHOP (log-rank test, P  = 0.025 and P  = 0.035, respectively). The 2-year PFS and OS rates in the DA-EPOCH-R group were 90.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 81.4-99.8%) and 95.2% (95% CI: 89.0-100.0%), respectively, and 80.5% (95% CI: 69.3-93.6%) and 90.5% (95% CI: 52.8-99.8%) in the R-CHOP group. Patients without B symptoms and elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels had a higher PFS in the DA-EPOCH-R group, with P values of 0.038 (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.11; 95% CI: 0.01-0.88) and 0.042 (HR: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.04-0.94), respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in clinical responses and treatment-related toxicities between the two groups. CONCLUSION Compared with patients received R-CHOP, those treated by DA-EPOCH-R had superior PFS, OS, and controlled toxicity in patients with WR-DLBCL.
Humans ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; Vincristine/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Prednisone/therapeutic use* ; Etoposide/therapeutic use* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy* ; Cyclophosphamide/therapeutic use* ; Doxorubicin/therapeutic use*

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Follicular ; drug therapy ; Rituximab

Adult ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hemophilia A ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Rituximab

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness, safety as well as the immunological change (peripheral T cell subpopulation) in patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) treated with lower dose rituximab.

METHODSTwenty-six patients with refractory ITP which were unresponsive to or relapse after steriod and IVIG treatment were treated with rituximab (100 mg per week for four weeks) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) treatment. Whole blood cell count, serum concentrations of IgG, IgM and IgA, platelet associated (PA)-IgG, PAIgA and PAIgM, peripheral T cell subpopulations, and B cells of CD19(+)/CD20(+) were detected before and after rituximab therapy.

RESULTSComplete response (CR) was achieved in 6 patients (23.1%), response (R) in 10 (38.5%), and non-response (NR) in 10 (38.5%). One patient relapsed after R. The median follow-up time was 5.5 (0.8 - 8) months. The median response and CR time were 27 (1 - 104) and 41 (4 - 109) days, respectively. After the therapy, the serum concentrations of IgG, IgA, IgM, T cells of CD3(+), CD3(+)CD4(+), CD3(+)CD8(+), CD3(-)CD56(+), CD4(+)CD25(+) and CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) were not changed, the number of CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(-) T cells decreased (P < 0.05) and CD19(+)CD20(+) B cells significantly decreased (P < 0.01). PAIgG was lower after treatment compared with that before treatment (P < 0.05). There were no severe adverse effects during rituximab therapy.

CONCLUSIONLower dose rituximab may be an effective and safe modality for patients with ITP.

Glomerulonephritis, Membranous ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rituximab ; therapeutic use

Pemphigus is a life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease affecting the skin and mucosa. Patients with severe pemphigus require long-term treatment with corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs, which can lead to serious adverse events. Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen of B lymphocytes, has been demonstrated to be effective in recalcitrant and life-threatening pemphigus.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antigens, CD20 ; immunology ; Humans ; Pemphigus ; therapy ; Rituximab

Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic ; therapy ; Rituximab

Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune ; therapy ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Rituximab