Rituximab Improves the Outcome of Patients With Grade 3 Follicular Lymphoma Receiving Anthracycline-Based Therapy.
Background: The combination of rituximab with chemotherapy has improved the outcome of patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). However, data on Grade 3 FL (FL3) and its subtypes are lacking. The aims of the study were to determine: (1) the clinical features and outcome of patients with FL3 treated with rituximab and anthracycline-based chemotherapy; and (2) the clinical significance of the 3 subtypes of FL3.
Patients and Methods: Eighty-seven patients with Grade 1/2 FL, 84 with FL3 including 46 FL3A, 17 FL3B, and 21 follicular large cleaved cell (FL3C), and 411 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with rituximab and anthracycline-based chemotherapy, and a historical cohort of 167 patients with FL3 who received only anthracycline-based chemotherapy (FL3*) were included in this retrospective study.
Results: The FL3 group had a significantly better overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) compared with those with FL3* or DLBCL. No significant differences in OS were found among the 3 subtypes of FL3. However, patients with FL3B had a shorter EFS than those with FL3A and FL3C. Moreover, patients with FL3B had an outcome similar to those with DLBCL, whereas patients with FL3A and 3C had significantly better outcomes than those with DLBCL. Less than 50% of the patients with FL3B and less than 20% of the patients with FL3A and 3C have relapsed, and relapses were uncommon after 5 years.
Conclusion: The use of rituximab with anthracycline-based chemotherapy significantly improved the survival of patients with FL3 and should be considered the benchmark by which other therapies for FL3 are evaluated in the future.