Dose Augmented Rituximab and ICE for Pts With Primary Refractory and Poor Risk Relapsed Aggressive B-Cell NHL
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2010-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The purpose of this research is to study a treatment program for patients with aggressive
lymphoma that has come back after initial or first therapy (called relapsed) or that has not
responded to first therapy (called refractory). Since 1993, we have used a combination of
chemotherapy known as ICE (Ifosfamide, Carboplatin, and Etoposide) for your type of lymphoma.
In many patients, this treatment helps the disease to shrink before giving high-dose therapy
and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). Only patients who respond to these types of
treatments have a chance of their disease going away (remission) with an ASCT. In 1999, we
studied the same treatment but added another medicine for your type of lymphoma, Rituximab
(Rituxan), to the ICE treatment (RICE). More patients had lymphoma shrinkage from this
treatment (chemosensitive disease) than with ICE alone. These patients then received high
dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplant and have an improved chance of having a
remission.
ICE chemotherapy is standard chemotherapy used at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
However, it is different in this study because of the higher doses. We are testing higher
doses of RICE treatment for patients in this study.
In our current study in Hodgkin's lymphoma, we are giving these higher doses of ICE (called
augmented ICE) to patients who also have higher risk. We hope to show in this study that by
using Rituximab and augmented ICE that we can improve your ability to achieve a remission
(that is, to have the disease go away).