Rituximab in combination with CHOP regimen in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma: Results of the phase II RAIL trial--A prospective study of the Groupe d'Etude des Lymphomes de l'Adulte (GELA).

8049 Background: Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) is an aggressive peripheral T-cell lymphoma with poor prognosis. The use of rituximab was based on the hallmark features of lymphoid B cell hyperstimulation in AITL and the presence of a variable content of CD20+ large B-blasts admixed within the neoplastic follicular helper T cells (TFH) in AITL. We postulated that AITL might benefit from a front line treatment with rituximab combined with CHOP. Methods: Between December 2005 and April 2008, 25 patients (pts) aged 59 to 79 years with newly diagnosed AITL were enrolled and treated in 11 centers with a combination of 8 cycles of Rituximab (375mg/m2 at day 1 of each cycle) and CHOP chemotherapy delivered every 3 weeks (R-CHOP21). The primary endpoint was the complete response rate. Results: Most of the pts had an advanced disease (stage IV: 92% and B symptoms: 68%). Median age was 67 years. All cases had histological and phenotypic features of AITL and 6 cases contained aggregates or sheets of large...