Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using reduced-intensity conditioning with rituximab yields excellent survival in high-risk patients with follicular lymphoma (FL), according to results of a prospective phase II study by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN). Most of the 65 patients were heavily pre-treated: 77% had received more than 3 prior regimens. Three-year overall survival and progression-free survival rates were 82% and 71%, respectively. Three-year cumulative incidences of relapse/progression and non-relapse mortality were 13% and 16%, respectively. The researchers concluded that allogeneic HCT confers high response rates, a low incidence of relapse/progression, and excellent survival in heavily pretreated FL patients.
Laport GG, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant