Objective: To investigate the effects of different treatment protocols on non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) with bone marrow involvement (BMI).
Methods: The clinical data of 148 patients of NHL with BMI, 108 undergoing CHOP regimen, 51 undergoing dose-intensive CHOP regimens, 13 undergoing CHOP regimen + rituximab, and 27 undergoing hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) after CHOP protocol with remission. The curative effects were retrospectively analyzed.
Results: (1) The response rate (RR) for the whole group was 80.4%, with a complete remission (CR) rate of 60.7%. The response rate of the patients treated with the dose-intensive regimens (dose-intensive group) was 84.3%, significantly higher than that of the patients treated with standard CHOP regimen (64.1%, P < 0.05). (2) The 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates and progress-free survival (PFS) of the B-cell NHL patients who underwent HSCT + Rituximab treatment (Rituximab combined with chemotherapy) were significantly higher than those of the dose-intensive group and CHOP group, and the 3- and 5-year OS rates and PFS of the dose-intensive group were all significantly higher than those of the CHOP group (all P < 0.05). (3) The 3- and 5-year OS rates, and PFS of the T-cell NHL patients who underwent HSCT group and dose-intensive CHOP were all significantly higher than those patients who underwent CHOP regimen (all P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Superior survival may benefit from Dose-intensive regimens and HSCT, may be good choices for the patients with NHLBMI, a group of heterogeneous malignancies with poor prognosis. And combined chemotherapy with Rituximab treatment remarkably raises the effect for CD20(+) B-cell NHLBMI.