A Randomized Phase III Study to Compare Conventional Chemotherapy (CHOEP-14) + Rituximab vs High-dose Chemotherapy Followed by Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation (Mega-CHOEP-21) + Rituximab in Younger Patients With Aggressive NHL
A Randomized Phase III Study to Compare Conventional Chemotherapy (CHOEP-14) + Rituximab vs High-dose Chemotherapy Followed by Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation (Mega-CHOEP-21) + Rituximab in Younger Patients With Aggressive NHL
According to amendment 3 this study addresses the question if intensification of administration of rituximab in standard treatment for patients with newly diagnosed aggressive B-Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (B-NHL) and high risk (aaIPI 2 or 3) results in a better time to treatment failure (TTTF)
This study was primarily designed to compare aggressive conventional chemotherapy with a repetitive high-dose (HD) therapy program using identical, effective drugs at highest possible dose and dose intensity with/without addition of rituximab (initially 4 treatment arms). In 2004 the first amendment had to be added in order to close two treatment arms without rituximab due to recent data revealing a significant advantage for rituximab-treated patients with CD20+lymphoma.
A planned interim analysis in 2010 revealed inferiority of the high-dose treatment thus in the 2nd amendment the high-dose arm was closed and additionally the rituximab frequency was raised from 6 to 12 administrations as recent publications gave hint for advantage. The last amendment was added in 2010 to adjust for delayed recruitment mainly due to organisation problems.
As the high-dose arm was closed only CD20+ B-lymphoma were included past amendment 2.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: