Continued Excellent Outcomes in Previously Untreated Patients With Follicular Lymphoma After Treatment With CHOP Plus Rituximab or CHOP Plus 131 I-Tositumomab: Long-Term Follow-Up of Phase III Randomized Study SWOG-S0016

• Published in: Journal of clinical oncology Vol. 36; no. 7; pp. 697 - 703
• Main Authors: Shadman, Mazyar, Li, Hongli, Rimsza, Lisa, Leonard, John P, Kaminski, Mark S, Braziel, Rita M, Spier, Catherine M, Gopal, Ajay K, Maloney, David G, Cheson, Bruce D, Dakhil, Shaker, LeBlanc, Michael, Smith, Sonali M, Fisher, Richard I, Friedberg, Jonathan W, Press, Oliver W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived - therapeutic use; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Cause of Death; Cyclophosphamide - administration & dosage; Cyclophosphamide - therapeutic use; Doxorubicin - administration & dosage; Doxorubicin - therapeutic use; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Lymphoma, Follicular - drug therapy; Lymphoma, Follicular - mortality; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms, Second Primary - epidemiology; Prednisone - administration & dosage; Prednisone - therapeutic use; Prognosis; Radioimmunotherapy - methods; Rituximab; Vincristine - administration & dosage; Vincristine - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0732-183X; 1527-7755
• DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2017.74.5083

Purpose SWOG S0016 was a phase III randomized study that compared the safety and efficacy of R-CHOP (rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) with CHOP-RIT (CHOP followed by consolidation with iodine-133-tositumomab radioimmunotherapy) for previously untreated patients with follicular lymphoma. Understanding the long-term outcome of patients provides a benchmark for novel treatment regimens for FL. Patients and Methods Between 2001 and 2008, 531 previously untreated patients with FL were randomly assigned to receive either six cycles of R-CHOP or six cycles of CHOP-RIT. Patients with advanced-stage disease (bulky stage II, III, or IV) of any pathologic grade (1, 2, or 3) were eligible. Results After a median follow-up of 10.3 years, 10-year estimates of progression-free and overall survival were 49% and 78% among all patients, respectively. Patients in the CHOP-RIT arm had significantly better 10-year progression-free survival compared with patients in the R-CHOP arm (56% v 42%; P = .01), but 10-year overall survival was not different between the two arms (75% v 81%; P = .13). There was no significant difference between the CHOP-RIT and R-CHOP arms in regard to incidence of second malignancies (15.1% v 16.1%; P = .81) or myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia (4.9% v 1.8%; P = .058). The estimated 10-year cumulative incidences of death resulting from second malignancies were not different (7.1% v 3.2%; P = .16), but cumulative incidence of death resulting from myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia was higher in the CHOP-RIT arm compared with the R-CHOP arm (4% v 0.9%; P = .02). Conclusion Given these outstanding outcomes, immunochemotherapy should remain the standard induction approach for patients with high-risk FL until long-term follow-up of alternative approaches demonstrates superiority.