Abstract:

Background and purpose: High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) is considered as the first line treatment for patients with relapse/refractory lymphoma after conventional chemotherapy. However, most of these patients still relapse the second time. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of the consolidation chemotherapy after autologous stem cell transplantation (HSCT) refractory/relapse lymphoma in high risk. Methods: A total of 38 patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma including Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) were included, who were underwent auto-HSCT in our transplantation department from Jan. 2010 to Dec. 2013. In treatment group, 19 patients received 2 courses of consolidation chemotherapy after auto-HSCT every 2 to 3 months, with the regimen of mini-BEAM or modified mini-CBV. Another 19 patients had no chemotherapy after auto-HSCT as control group. Results: The median follow-up duration was 17.2 and 7.5 months in the treatment and control group respectively. The follow-up data demonstrated prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in the treatment group than the control group [24.7 months vs 7.8 months, P=0.029 under intend-to-treat analysis ITT; 24.7 months vs 5.2 months, P=0.01 under per protocol analysis(pp)]. There is also a trend of improved overall survival (OS) in the treatment group (P=0.055, ITT). Conclusion: Consolidation chemotherapy after auto-HSCT for refractory/relapsed lymphoma patients delay the relapse and tend to improve the overall relapse rate

Key words: Lymphoma, Refractory/relapse, Autologous stem cell transplantation, Consolidation Chemotherapy