Long-term Therapeutic Success of Intravenous Rituximab in 26 Patients with Indolent Primary Cutaneous B-cell Lymphoma

Systemic monotherapy with rituximab is a well-known treatment approach for primary cutaneous follicle centre lymphoma and primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma. Both have excellent prognosis despite high relapse rates. To investigate the long-term effectiveness and clinical outcome of intravenous rituximab at a dose of 375 mg/m(2) once weekly, data for 26 patients (17 primary cutaneous follicle centre lymphoma and 9 primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma) were analysed retrospectively. Complete remissions occurred in 20 (77%) and partial remissions in 6 patients (23%), demonstrating an overall response rate of 100%. The relapse rate was 52.9% in primary cutaneous follicle centre lymphoma and 88.9% in primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma. Ongoing complete remissions after therapy with rituximab were observed in 9 patients (34.6%) with a median progression-free survival of 161 months (13.4 years). These results confirm that intravenous rituximab is an effective and well-tolerated treatment with durable responses in a relevant percentage of patients at a median follow-up of 148 months (12.3 years).

Automated summary

The study found that intravenous rituximab is effective in treating primary cutaneous follicle centre lymphoma and primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphoma, resulting in high rates of remission and durable responses in a relevant percentage of patients. Despite the risk of relapse, long-term treatment with intravenous rituximab remains an effective and well-tolerated option for these lymphomas.