Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Stem Cell Transplant May Not Benefit Double-Hit Lymphoma Patients
Clinical Breakthroughs

Stem Cell Transplant May Not Benefit Double-Hit Lymphoma Patients

By Anna WilliamsJul 3, 2017
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Jason Kaplan, MD, Hematology/Oncology
Jason Kaplan, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, was a co-author of the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Patients with double-hit lymphoma — a rare and aggressive variant of non-Hodgkin lymphoma — who achieved remission and underwent autologous stem cell transplantation did not remain in remission or live longer than patients who did not receive the procedure, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

In a second finding, the study discovered that patients who had received intensive front-line chemotherapy prior to remission achieved better long-term outcomes compared to those who underwent a standard chemotherapy regimen.

The paper was co-authored by Jason Kaplan, MD, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Amir Behdad, MD, assistant professor of Pathology, and Adam Petrich, MD, adjunct assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology.

Double-hit lymphoma (DHL) is a high-grade form of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by genetic rearrangements; outcomes tend to be poor, with an overall survival of less than two years, and prognosis after a relapse is particularly poor.

In some cases, patients who achieve a complete remission after chemotherapy also undergo autologous stem cell transplantation, with the hope that the procedure will put patients into a longer-lasting remission.

The strategy has been controversial, however, as the therapy is potentially toxic, and there had been no prior large-scale studies to confirm any benefit to the stem cell transplants, due to the rarity of the disease.

In this multicenter study, investigators analyzed data from 159 DHL patients who had achieved remission — the largest number in such a study to date — and discovered that stem cell transplantation did not provide patients any clear benefit. There was no significant differences in three-year relapse-free survival, or overall survival, between the two groups.

On the other hand, patients who underwent intensive front-line therapy were found to achieve better three-year relapse-free survival rates, compared to those who received a standard regimen (rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone, or “R-CHOP”).

While the findings support the strategy of intensive front-line therapy without autologous stem cell transplantation for patients with DHL, and provide the best evidence to date, the authors note that the study is limited by its retrospective nature.

“The results of this study are provocative, but should not be considered practice-changing. Despite these results, I suspect that it will still be common practice to recommend that patients with double-hit lymphoma undergo autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant in first remission,” Kaplan said. “A prospective randomized controlled trial would be needed to more accurately assess the role of consolidative stem cell transplant for double-hit lymphoma patients.”

Kaplan and Behdad are also members of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

Kaplan has received research funding from Janssen and Seattle Genetics and traveling fees from Curis. Petrich is an employee of AbbVie.

Cancer Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Dissolving Implantable Device Relieves Pain Without Drugs

Jun 30, 2022

Fathers’ Presence During Childhood Predicts Adult Testosterone Levels

Jun 29, 2022

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Physician Assistant Students Embrace ‘Shades of Purple’

Jul 1, 2022

Dissolving Implantable Device Relieves Pain Without Drugs

Jun 30, 2022

Fathers’ Presence During Childhood Predicts Adult Testosterone Levels

Jun 29, 2022

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20220617_NM_0434
20220617_NM_0858
20220617_NM_0643
20220617_NM_0835
20220617_NM_0544
20220617_NM_0450
20220617_NM_0790
20220617_NM_0811
20220617_NM_0851
20220617_NM_0696
20220617_NM_0779
20220617_NM_0838

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.