Impact of intended and relative dose intensity of R-CHOP in a large, consecutive cohort of elderly Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with curative intent: no difference in cumulative incidence of relapse comparing patients by age.
Eyre TA., Martinez-Calle N., Hildyard C., Eyre DW., Plaschkes H., Griffith J., Wolf J., Fields P., Gunawan A., Oliver R., Djebbari F., Booth S., McMillan A., Fox CP., Bishton MJ., Collins GP., Hatton CSR.
BACKGROUND: The increasing incidence of DLBCL in aging populations places a significant burden on healthcare systems. Co-morbidity, frailty, and reduced organ and physiological reserve contribute to treatment-related complications. The optimal dose intensity of R-CHOP to optimise outcome across different ages with variable frailty and comorbidity burden is unclear OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: We examined the influence of intended (IDI) and relative (RDI) dose intensity of the combination of cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin, age and co-morbidity on outcomes for DLBCL patients ≥70 years in a representative, consecutive cohort across 8 UK centres (2009-2018). We determined predictors of survival using multivariable Cox regression, and predictors of recurrence before death using competing risks regression. RESULTS: PFS and OS were significantly inferior in patients ≥80 versus 70-79 years (p<0.001). In contrast, 2-year cumulative relapse incidence, when accounting for non-relapse mortality as a competing risk, was no different between 70-79 versus ≥80 years (p=0.27) or comorbidity status (CIRS-G:0-6 vs >6) (p=0.27). In 70-79 years, patients with an IDI ≥80% had a significantly improved PFS and OS (p<0.001) compared to IDI<80%. Conversely, in patients ≥80 years, there was no difference in PFS (p=0.88) or OS (p=0.75) according to IDI<80% versus ≥80%. On multivariable analysis, when comparing by age, there was a significantly higher cumulative relapse rate for patients aged 70-79 years with an IDI<80% (vs. >80%) (p=0.04) but not for patients ≥80 years comparing IDI (p=0.32) CONCLUSION: 'R-mini-CHOP' provides adequate lymphoma-specific disease control and represents a reasonable treatment option in elderly patients ≥80 years aiming for cure. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.