Efficacy and safety of modified rituximab-ESHAP therapy for relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma.

Combined therapy of rituximab, etoposide, methylprednisolone, high-dose cytarabine, and cisplatin (R-ESHAP) has been one of the most frequently used salvage regimens for relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2002, we introduced the modified R-ESHAP regimen in which cisplatin was switched to carboplatin. we evaluated the safety and effectiveness of this modified regimen by reviewing the records of 35 patients who had been administered R-ESHAP. Our cohort included 21 patients with diffuse large b cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and 14 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). The overall response rate (ORR) was 48% for DLBCL and 93% for FL. The overall survival (OS) for patients with DLBCL was 51% with a median follow-up of 11 months, and 91% for patients with Fl with a median follow-up of 36 months. Our study indicates that modified R-ESHAP is an effective and safe salvage regimen for relapsed/refractory FL, however, its efficacy for relapsed DLBCL is limited.