High Dose Rituximab for Initial Treatment of Indolent B-Cell Lymphomas

B-cell Lymphoma Clinical Trial

Official title: Phase II Trial of Increased Dose Rituximab Plus Maintenance Rituximab for Initial Systemic Treatment of Indolent B-Cell Lymphomas

Status Active, not recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this clinical trial is to see if increased doses of rituximab are safe and effective for the initial treatment of indolent B-cell lymphomas. Rituximab (Rituxan) is a type of drug called an "antibody" that specifically targets B-cell lymphoma cells, and is approved by the FDA for the treatment of indolent B-cell non-hodgkin lymphomas and certain other types of non-hodgkin lymphomas. Standard doses currently used may not be achieving maximal efficacy. Higher doses have been shown to be safe in other clinical trials, and may offer superior efficacy to the current standard dose. This trial also employs intermittent maintenance doses of rituximab at the standard dose, which has been shown to prolong remissions and survival in patients with relapsed indolent B-cell lymphomas. This trial is designed to show that higher dose rituximab plus maintenance rituximab can achieve similarly good results to chemotherapy approaches, but without chemotherapy-related toxicity.

Clinical Trial Description

• All participants will receive increased-dose rituximab through a vein in the arm once a week for 4 weeks (on Days 1, 8, 15, and 22 of the initial 28-day study cycle). This first cycle of study treatment is called the Induction Phase. If the participant responds well to the Induction Phase, they then may continue to the Maintenance Therapy Phase, where they will receive a lower dose of rituximab once every three months for up to 2 years.

• During the Induction Phase, the following procedures will take place before the participant receives each dose of rituximab: medical review, physical exam, performance status, and ECG. Blood tests will be drawn about 30-60 minutes after the first dose of rituximab on Day 1. Samples will be drawn immediately before each dose and again 30-60 minutes after each dose on Days 1, 8, 15 and 22.

• During the Maintenance Therapy Phase, the following procedures will take place before the participant receives each dose of rituximab: medical review, physical exam, performance status, ECG, blood tests and response assessments by CT scan. ;

Study Design

Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• B-cell Lymphoma
• Indolent B-cell Lymphoma
• Lymphoma
• Lymphoma, B-Cell

• NCT number: NCT00895661
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: July 2009
• Completion date: December 2017