CHOP chemotherapy has been used as a standard first-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma since the 1970s. Phase III trials have shown that the addition of rituximab (R) to CHOP chemotherapy leads to significant improvements in response rate, progression-free survival and overall survival. This single-center, retrospective study was performed to evaluate the role of the addition of R to chemotherapy (CHT) in a real-world clinical setting. Outcomes were assessed in 85 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL treated with CHT alone (n=38) and R-CHT (n=47). Complete response (CR) rates were significantly higher after R-CHT than CHT (93 % vs. 73 %; p=0.02). The relapse rate was significantly higher after CHT compared with R-CHT (38 % versus 12 %; p=0.01). Progression-free survival was significantly extended by the addition of R (median not reached versus 26.1 months; p=0.04). These data bring further support for rituximab-based immunochemotherapy as a standard first-line therapy for patients with DLBCL.

2nd Department of Medicine Division of Clinical Hematology Charles University Prague Faculty of Medicine University Hospital in Hradec Králové Czech Republic