A trial looking at CHOP-R and Zevalin for patients over 60 years old with diffuse large B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma

This trial was looking at a short course of chemotherapy with a new drug called Zevalin for people over 60 years of age with diffuse large B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma.

Diffuse large B cell non Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of high grade (aggressive) non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). When this trials started, the standard treatment for all B cell lymphomas was a combination of drugs called CHOP-R. This includes the chemotherapy drugs cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), vincristine, the steroid prednisolone and a monoclonal antibody called rituximab (Mabthera). Some patients over 60 years old are not well enough to have 6 cycles of full dose CHOP-R treatment. Doctors though that having less CHOP-R and adding a new drug called Y ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) might be better for this group of patients.

Zevalin is a radio labelled monoclonal antibody. This means it has a radioactive molecule called yttrium 90 attached to it. The antibody targets the CD20 protein on the surface of NHL B cells, and the radioactive yttrium kills them. Previous trials on a small number of patients with aggressive lymphoma had shown that a single dose of Zevalin could work well and improve quality of life.

The aims of the trial were to find out

• The best dose of Zevalin to use
• What the side effects are
• How well it works for diffuse large B cell NHL