Rituximab for High-Risk, Mature B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Children

Minard-Colin V, Aupérin A, Pillon M, Burke GAA, Barkauskas DA, Wheatley K, Delgado RF, Alexander S, Uyttebroeck A, Bollard CM, Zsiros J, Csoka M, Kazanowska B, Chiang AK, Miles RR, Wotherspoon A, Adamson PC, Vassal G, Patte C, Gross TG. Rituximab for High-Risk, Mature B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Children. N Engl J Med. 2020 Jun 4;382(23):2207-2219. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1915315. PubMed PMID: 32492302; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7720281.

Rituximab added to chemotherapy prolongs survival among adults with B-cell cancer. Data on its efficacy and safety in children with high-grade, mature B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are limited. We conducted an open-label, international, randomized, phase 3 trial involving patients younger than 18 years of age with high-risk, mature B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (stage III with an elevated lactate dehydrogenase level or stage IV) or acute leukemia to compare the addition of six doses of rituximab to standard lymphomes malins B (LMB) chemotherapy with standard LMB chemotherapy alone. The primary end point was event-free survival. Overall survival and toxic effects were also assessed.