Rituximab maintenance obviates the poor prognosis associated with circulating lymphoma cells in patients with follicular lymphoma

摘要

Follicular lymphoma is typically a disseminated disease with frequent bone marrow infiltration at the time of diagnosis, but only a few patients manifest detectable circulating peripheral blood lymphoma cells (CLC). We recently described the poor prognosis of patients with follicular lymphoma presenting with this feature. The present report evaluates the effect of rituximab maintenance on the outcome of such patients. At Primary Rituximab and Maintenance (PRIMA) study (NCT00140582) entry, 92 patients were identified with CLC assessed by local laboratories and documented in case reports forms, with a mean lymphoma cell count of 14.4 X 10~9/L (median, 2 X 10~9/L; range, 0.1 -176 X 10~9/L). These patients with CLC were significantly younger and presented more frequently with advanced-stage disease, extranodal involvement, anemia, and high serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase or beta_2-microglobulin than those without CLC (each P < .05; data not shown).