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Impact of immunochemotherapy regimens on outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma in the IELSG37 trial

Impact of immunochemotherapy regimens on outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma in the IELSG37 trial
Impact of immunochemotherapy regimens on outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma in the IELSG37 trial

The IELSG37 trial enrolled 545 patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) and demonstrated that consolidation radiotherapy (RT) can be omitted in patients with complete metabolic response, defined by the Lugano classification as Deauville score (DS) 1 to 3. This report evaluates outcomes after different frontline rituximab- and doxorubicin-based immunochemotherapy regimens chosen according to local practice. Patients treated with R-CHOP21 (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone, administered every 21 days) showed a significantly higher percentage of DS 5 than those on other regimens (23.8% vs 8.2% average; P < .001) and a trend toward additional unplanned treatments (53.2% vs 46.9%; P = .30). The increased risk of poor response was confirmed in a multinomial logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, international prognostic index score, and performance status. R-CHOP21 was also associated with smaller reductions in metabolic tumor volume and less pronounced decreases in maximum standardized uptake value. Patients with DS 5 more often received additional treatment (RT and/or salvage chemotherapy with or without autologous consolidation) after induction immunochemotherapy (96% vs 41%; P < .001) and experienced significantly poorer outcomes. Although differences in progression-free and overall survival between R-CHOP21 and more aggressive regimens were not statistically significant, R-CHOP21 may increase the risk of additional treatments and may be inadvisable as frontline therapy for PMBCL. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01599559.

Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use, Cyclophosphamide/administration & dosage, Doxorubicin/administration & dosage, Female, Humans, Immunotherapy, Lymphoma, B-Cell/drug therapy, Male, Mediastinal Neoplasms/drug therapy, Middle Aged, Prednisone/administration & dosage, Rituximab/administration & dosage, Treatment Outcome, Vincristine/administration & dosage, Young Adult
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Zucca, Emanuele
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Ceriani, Luca
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Ciccone, Giovannino
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Di Rocco, Alice
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Pirosa, Maria Cristina
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Kriachok, Iryna
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Botto, Barbara
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Balzarotti, Monica
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Tucci, Alessandra
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Usai, Sara Veronica
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Zilioli, Vittorio Ruggero
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Pennese, Elsa
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Arcaini, Luca
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Dabrowska-Iwanicka, Anna
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Ferreri, Andrés J.M.
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Rigacci, Luigi
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Cellini, Claudia
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Hodgson, David
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Ionescu, Codruta
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Minoia, Carla
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Lucchini, Elisa
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Spina, Michele
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Fosså, Alexander
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Janikova, Andrea
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Mikhaeel, N. George
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Jerkeman, Mats
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Ielmini, Nicoletta
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De Martino, Iolanda
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Trneny, Marek
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Cavalli, Franco
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Ricardi, Umberto
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et al.
Zucca, Emanuele
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Ceriani, Luca
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Di Rocco, Alice
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Kriachok, Iryna
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Botto, Barbara
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Balzarotti, Monica
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Tucci, Alessandra
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Usai, Sara Veronica
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Arcaini, Luca
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Ferreri, Andrés J.M.
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Merli, Francesco
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Zhao, Weili
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Rigacci, Luigi
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Cellini, Claudia
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Hodgson, David
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Ionescu, Codruta
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Minoia, Carla
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Spina, Michele
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Fosså, Alexander
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Janikova, Andrea
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Cwynarski, Kate
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Mikhaeel, N. George
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Jerkeman, Mats
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Stathis, Anastasios
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Cozens, Kelly
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Ielmini, Nicoletta
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De Martino, Iolanda
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Walewski, Jan
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Trneny, Marek
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Cavalli, Franco
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Ricardi, Umberto
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Johnson, Peter W.M.
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Davies, Andrew
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Martelli, Maurizio
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Zucca, Emanuele, Ceriani, Luca and Ciccone, Giovannino , et al. (2025) Impact of immunochemotherapy regimens on outcomes of patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma in the IELSG37 trial. Blood, 146 (23), 2758-2764. (doi:10.1182/blood.2025028823).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The IELSG37 trial enrolled 545 patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) and demonstrated that consolidation radiotherapy (RT) can be omitted in patients with complete metabolic response, defined by the Lugano classification as Deauville score (DS) 1 to 3. This report evaluates outcomes after different frontline rituximab- and doxorubicin-based immunochemotherapy regimens chosen according to local practice. Patients treated with R-CHOP21 (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone, administered every 21 days) showed a significantly higher percentage of DS 5 than those on other regimens (23.8% vs 8.2% average; P < .001) and a trend toward additional unplanned treatments (53.2% vs 46.9%; P = .30). The increased risk of poor response was confirmed in a multinomial logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, international prognostic index score, and performance status. R-CHOP21 was also associated with smaller reductions in metabolic tumor volume and less pronounced decreases in maximum standardized uptake value. Patients with DS 5 more often received additional treatment (RT and/or salvage chemotherapy with or without autologous consolidation) after induction immunochemotherapy (96% vs 41%; P < .001) and experienced significantly poorer outcomes. Although differences in progression-free and overall survival between R-CHOP21 and more aggressive regimens were not statistically significant, R-CHOP21 may increase the risk of additional treatments and may be inadvisable as frontline therapy for PMBCL. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01599559.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 25 July 2025
Published date: 4 December 2025
Keywords: Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use, Cyclophosphamide/administration & dosage, Doxorubicin/administration & dosage, Female, Humans, Immunotherapy, Lymphoma, B-Cell/drug therapy, Male, Mediastinal Neoplasms/drug therapy, Middle Aged, Prednisone/administration & dosage, Rituximab/administration & dosage, Treatment Outcome, Vincristine/administration & dosage, Young Adult

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 508619
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/508619
ISSN: 0006-4971
PURE UUID: df663f2a-a954-4784-973f-526dba2a4b2c
ORCID for Kelly Cozens: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9592-9100
ORCID for Andrew Davies: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-7517-6938

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 28 Jan 2026 17:43
Last modified: 29 Jan 2026 03:17

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Contributors

Author: Emanuele Zucca
Author: Luca Ceriani
Author: Giovannino Ciccone
Author: Alice Di Rocco
Author: Maria Cristina Pirosa
Author: Iryna Kriachok
Author: Barbara Botto
Author: Monica Balzarotti
Author: Alessandra Tucci
Author: Sara Veronica Usai
Author: Vittorio Ruggero Zilioli
Author: Elsa Pennese
Author: Luca Arcaini
Author: Anna Dabrowska-Iwanicka
Author: Andrés J.M. Ferreri
Author: Francesco Merli
Author: Weili Zhao
Author: Luigi Rigacci
Author: Claudia Cellini
Author: David Hodgson
Author: Codruta Ionescu
Author: Carla Minoia
Author: Elisa Lucchini
Author: Michele Spina
Author: Alexander Fosså
Author: Andrea Janikova
Author: Kate Cwynarski
Author: N. George Mikhaeel
Author: Mats Jerkeman
Author: Anastasios Stathis
Author: Kelly Cozens ORCID iD
Author: Nicoletta Ielmini
Author: Iolanda De Martino
Author: Jan Walewski
Author: Marek Trneny
Author: Franco Cavalli
Author: Umberto Ricardi
Author: Peter W.M. Johnson
Author: Andrew Davies ORCID iD
Author: Maurizio Martelli
Corporate Author: et al.

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