Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of rituximab before autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) for the treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but the few studies on rituximab treatment after ASCT have not established conclusively the clinical benefits of this particular treatment regimen.
Patients and methods: We conducted a metaanalysis of 3 comparative studies encompassing 407 lymphoma patients treated with rituximab after ASCT.
Results: Combined results revealed a significantly higher event-free survival (EFS) in the rituximab-treated (R+) group compared with the R- group (P = .003 at 1 year; P = .03 at 3 years; P = .001 at 4 years). Moreover, the R+ group also demonstrated higher overall survival (OS) and complete remission (CR) rates (P = .0006 and P < .0001, respectively, at 1 year) without a significant increase in adverse events.
Conclusions: According to the included articles, there were no differences in CR, overall response, 3-year EFS, or 3-year OS between rituximab-naïve patients and patients previously treated with rituximab before ASCT. Post-ASCT maintenance regimens including rituximab show increased EFS, OS, and CR.
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