ORLANDO—Preliminary results with dose-adjusted EPOCH-rituximab (Rituxan) (DA-EPOCH-R) for Burkitt's Lymphoma suggest that the treatment is very promising and has low toxicity, according to a study presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (abstract 2736). The study population is small, just 19 patients, but the results so far are very encouraging, said lead author Kieron Dunleavy, MD, of the NCI's Center for Cancer Research.
Burkitt's lymphoma is a highly curable disease, but the standard treatment (intensive multiagent chemotherapy), although effective, is very toxic, particularly in older patients and patients who are HIV positive or immunosuppressed. Dr. Dunleavy and his colleagues had been using dose-adjusted EPOCH with rituximab(Drug information on rituximab) to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma for a number of years, with excellent results. They proposed that the same regimen would be as effective as standard first-line treatment of Burkitt's lymphoma, with less toxicity.
The study enrolled 19 patients with untreated Burkitt's lymphoma who were mostly in their 20s (range, 18 to 66 years). More than half had advanced disease, and 65% had extranodal disease. No patients had central nervous system disease.
Patients who were HIV negative received six cycles of DA-EPOCH-R, while those with HIV-associated Burkitt's lymphoma received three to six cycles (one cycle beyond a complete response for a minimum of three cycles). All patients received intrathecal methotrexate(Drug information on methotrexate) prophylaxis; treatment was administered in the outpatient clinic whenever possible.
The DA-EPOCH-R regimen was "extremely successful," Dr. Dunleavy reported. All patients achieved a complete remission, and all tolerated the treatment very well, he said. One patient received consolidative radiotherapy to a single site of residual disease. At 28 months' follow-up, overall and progression-free survival rates are both 100%, and event-free survival is 92.3%.
Significant toxicities include fever/neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. There were no treatment-related deaths, and only one occurrence of tumor lysis syndrome. Only 10% of treatment cycles involved hospitalization for low blood counts and fever, Dr. Dunleavy said.
