The Clinical Efficacy of R-CHOP Chemotherapy in Patients with Previously Untreated Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma

Background: In combination with standard-dose CHOP (cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin, and prednisolone), the addition of rituximab produces a better clinical response in the treatment of aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) than CHOP alone. Methods: Thirty-four patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell NHL received at least three or four cycles of rituximab 375 mg/ or 500 mg per dose on day 1 of each cycle in combination with CHOP chemotherapy. Results: The median age of patients were 61.5 years (range, 28-83 years). After the end of therapy, twenty-five patients (73.5%) experienced a complete response, four patients (11.8%) had a partial response, and two patients (5.9%) were classified as having progressive disease. The median follow-up duration was 9.4 months (range, 0.2-19.5 months) and 1-year overall survival and progression free survival was 84.88.7% and 80.39.4%, respectively. Two patients (5.9%) experienced fever, myalgia, and skin eruption due to rituximab. Neutropenia of grade 3 or 4 occurred in thirty-one patients (91.2%). Conclusion: The benefits of rituximab in combination with CHOP chemotherapy include high response rates and good tolerance. However, further prospective, randomized studies are needed to draw definitive conclusions.