Transformed lymphoma, often referred to as Richter's transformation, most commonly arises from a preceding indolent lymphoma - usually follicular lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It is typically treated as per the histologic subtype, which is usually DLBCL. However, some regimens specific to transformed lymphoma have been developed and are included here.
All lines of therapy
Axicabtagene ciloleucel monotherapy
Regimen
Autologous HSCT conditioning regimens
Treatment followed by:
Cellular therapy
Supportive medications
One course; patients with initial response and disease progression at least 3 months later could be retreated
References
- Phase 1: Locke FL, Neelapu SS, Bartlett NL, Siddiqi T, Chavez JC, Hosing CM, Ghobadi A, Budde LE, Bot A, Rossi JM, Jiang Y, Xue AX, Elias M, Aycock J, Wiezorek J, Go WY. Phase 1 results of ZUMA-1: A multicenter study of KTE-C19 anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy in refractory aggressive lymphoma. Mol Ther. 2017 Jan 4;25(1):285-295. Epub 2017 Jan 4. link to original article PubMed
- ZUMA-1: Neelapu SS, Locke FL, Bartlett NL, Lekakis LJ, Miklos DB, Jacobson CA, Braunschweig I, Oluwole OO, Siddiqi T, Lin Y, Timmerman JM, Stiff PJ, Friedberg JW, Flinn IW, Goy A, Hill BT, Smith MR, Deol A, Farooq U, McSweeney P, Munoz J, Avivi I, Castro JE, Westin JR, Chavez JC, Ghobadi A, Komanduri KV, Levy R, Jacobsen ED, Witzig TE, Reagan P, Bot A, Rossi J, Navale L, Jiang Y, Aycock J, Elias M, Chang D, Wiezorek J, Go WY. Axicabtagene ciloleucel CAR T-cell therapy in refractory large B-cell lymphoma. N Engl J Med. 2017 Dec 28;377(26):2531-2544. Epub 2017 Dec 10. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
Bendamustine monotherapy
Regimen
Chemotherapy
21-day cycle for up to 12 cycles
References
- Friedberg JW, Cohen P, Chen L, Robinson KS, Forero-Torres A, La Casce AS, Fayad LE, Bessudo A, Camacho ES, Williams ME, van der Jagt RH, Oliver JW, Cheson BD. Bendamustine in patients with rituximab-refractory indolent and transformed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: results from a phase II multicenter, single-agent study. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Jan 10;26(2):204-10. Erratum in: J Clin Oncol. 2008 Apr 10;26(11) 1911. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
131Iodine-Tositumomab monotherapy
Regimen
Also evaluated in low-grade NHL but subtype was not specified. Now obsolete as this drug has been discontinued.
Dosimetric step
- On Day 0, infusions of:
- Day 2, 3, or 4: Second scan of whole body dosimetry & redistribution
- Day 6 or 7: Third scan of whole body dosimetry & redistribution
Therapeutic step
- Any day from day 7-14, infusions of:
Calculated dose of I-131 is based on information from serial total-body gamma-camera counts
References
- Vose JM, Wahl RL, Saleh M, Rohatiner AZ, Knox SJ, Radford JA, Zelenetz AD, Tidmarsh GF, Stagg RJ, Kaminski MS. Multicenter phase II study of iodine-131 tositumomab for chemotherapy-relapsed/refractory low-grade and transformed low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. J Clin Oncol. 2000 Mar;18(6):1316-23. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
Lenalidomide monotherapy
Regimen
Chemotherapy
28-day cycles
References
- Witzig TE, Vose JM, Zinzani PL, Reeder CB, Buckstein R, Polikoff JA, Bouabdallah R, Haioun C, Tilly H, Guo P, Pietronigro D, Ervin-Haynes AL, Czuczman MS. An international phase II trial of single-agent lenalidomide for relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Ann Oncol. 2011 Jul;22(7):1622-7. Epub 2011 Jan 12. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
Lenalidomide & Rituximab
Regimen
Chemotherapy
28-day cycles
References
- Wang M, Fowler N, Wagner-Bartak N, Feng L, Romaguera J, Neelapu SS, Hagemeister F, Fanale M, Oki Y, Pro B, Shah J, Thomas S, Younes A, Hosing C, Zhang L, Newberry KJ, Desai M, Cheng N, Badillo M, Bejarano M, Chen Y, Young KH, Champlin R, Kwak L, Fayad L. Oral lenalidomide with rituximab in relapsed or refractory diffuse large cell, follicular and transformed lymphoma: a phase II clinical trial. Leukemia. 2013 Sep;27(9):1902-9. Epub 2013 Apr 2. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
OFAR
OFAR: Oxaliplatin, Fludarabine, Ara-C (Cytarabine), Rituximab
Regimen
Chemotherapy
- Oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) 25 mg/m2 IV over 2 hours once per day on days 1 to 4
- Fludarabine (Fludara) 30 mg/m2 IV once per day on days 2 & 3, given within 30 minutes of completion of oxaliplatin
- Cytarabine (Cytosar) 1000 mg/m2 IV over 2 hours once per day on days 2 & 3, given 4 hours after start of fludarabine
- Rituximab (Rituxan) as follows:
- Cycle 1: 375 mg/m2 IV over 4 to 6 hours once on day 3
- Cycles 2 to 6: 375 mg/m2 IV over 4 to 6 hours once on day 1
Supportive medications
28-day cycle for up to 6 cycles
References
- Tsimberidou AM, Wierda WG, Plunkett W, Kurzrock R, O'Brien S, Wen S, Ferrajoli A, Ravandi-Kashani F, Garcia-Manero G, Estrov Z, Kipps TJ, Brown JR, Fiorentino A, Lerner S, Kantarjian HM, Keating MJ. Phase I-II study of oxaliplatin, fludarabine, cytarabine, and rituximab combination therapy in patients with Richter's syndrome or fludarabine-refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Jan 10;26(2):196-203. link to original article contains protocol PubMed
Pembrolizumab monotherapy
Regimen
Immunotherapy
21-day cycle for up to 2 years
References
- Ding W, LaPlant BR, Call TG, Parikh SA, Leis JF, He R, Shanafelt TD, Sinha S, Le-Rademacher J, Feldman AL, Habermann TM, Witzig TE, Wiseman GA, Lin Y, Asmus E, Nowakowski GS, Conte MJ, Bowen DA, Aitken CN, Van Dyke DL, Greipp PT, Liu X, Wu X, Zhang H, Secreto CR, Tian S, Braggio E, Wellik LE, Micallef I, Viswanatha DS, Yan H, Chanan-Khan AA, Kay NE, Dong H, Ansell SM. Pembrolizumab in patients with CLL and Richter transformation or with relapsed CLL. Blood. 2017 Jun 29;129(26):3419-3427. Epub 2017 Apr 19. link to original article contains verified protocol link to PMC article PubMed
R-DHAP
R-DHAP: Rituximab, Dexamethasone, High-dose Ara-C (Cytarabine), Platinol (Cisplatin)
Regimen
Chemotherapy
21-day cycle for up to 3 cycles
References
- Crump M, Kuruvilla J, Couban S, MacDonald DA, Kukreti V, Kouroukis CT, Rubinger M, Buckstein R, Imrie KR, Federico M, Di Renzo N, Howson-Jan K, Baetz T, Kaizer L, Voralia M, Olney HJ, Turner AR, Sussman J, Hay AE, Djurfeldt MS, Meyer RM, Chen BE, Shepherd LE. Randomized comparison of gemcitabine, dexamethasone, and cisplatin versus dexamethasone, cytarabine, and cisplatin chemotherapy before autologous stem-cell transplantation for relapsed and refractory aggressive lymphomas: NCIC-CTG LY.12. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Nov 1;32(31):3490-6. Epub 2014 Sep 29. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
- Subgroup Analysis: Kuruvilla J, MacDonald DA, Kouroukis CT, Cheung M, Olney HJ, Turner AR, Anglin P, Seftel M, Ismail WS, Luminari S, Couban S, Baetz T, Meyer RM, Hay AE, Shepherd L, Djurfeldt MS, Alamoudi S, Chen BE, Crump M. Salvage chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation for transformed indolent lymphoma: a subset analysis of NCIC CTG LY12. Blood. 2015 Aug 6;126(6):733-8. Epub 2015 Jun 24. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
R-EPOCH
R-EPOCH: Rituximab, Etoposide, Prednisone, Oncovin (Vincristine), Cyclophosphamide, Hydroxydaunorubicin (Doxorubicin)
Regimen
Note: this is not the dose-adjusted R-EPOCH regimen
Chemotherapy
21-day cycle for 4 to 6 cycles
References
- Jermann M, Jost LM, Taverna Ch, Jacky E, Honegger HP, Betticher DC, Egli F, Kroner T, Stahel RA. Rituximab-EPOCH, an effective salvage therapy for relapsed, refractory or transformed B-cell lymphomas: results of a phase II study. Ann Oncol. 2004 Mar;15(3):511-6. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
R-GDP
R-GDP: Rituximab, Gemcitabine, Dexamethasone, Platinol (Cisplatin)
Regimen
Chemotherapy
21-day cycle for up to 3 cycles
Subsequent treatment
- Responders: autologous HSCT
References
- NCIC-CTG LY.12: Crump M, Kuruvilla J, Couban S, MacDonald DA, Kukreti V, Kouroukis CT, Rubinger M, Buckstein R, Imrie KR, Federico M, Di Renzo N, Howson-Jan K, Baetz T, Kaizer L, Voralia M, Olney HJ, Turner AR, Sussman J, Hay AE, Djurfeldt MS, Meyer RM, Chen BE, Shepherd LE. Randomized Comparison of Gemcitabine, Dexamethasone, and Cisplatin Versus Dexamethasone, Cytarabine, and Cisplatin Chemotherapy Before Autologous Stem-Cell Transplantation for Relapsed and Refractory Aggressive Lymphomas: NCIC-CTG LY.12. J Clin Oncol. 2014 Nov 1;32(31):3490-6. Epub 2014 Sep 29. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
- Subgroup Analysis: Kuruvilla J, MacDonald DA, Kouroukis CT, Cheung M, Olney HJ, Turner AR, Anglin P, Seftel M, Ismail WS, Luminari S, Couban S, Baetz T, Meyer RM, Hay AE, Shepherd L, Djurfeldt MS, Alamoudi S, Chen BE, Crump M. Salvage chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation for transformed indolent lymphoma: a subset analysis of NCIC CTG LY12. Blood. 2015 Aug 6;126(6):733-8. Epub 2015 Jun 24. link to original article contains verified protocol PubMed
Tisagenlecleucel monotherapy
Regimen
The range given is the FDA-recommended dose.
Preceding treatment
Immunotherapy
One course
References
- Abstract: Schuster SJ, Bishop MR, Tam C, et al. Global Pivotal Phase 2 Trial of the CD19‐Targeted Therapy CTL019 in Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) Diffuse Large B‐Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)—an Interim Analysis. Hematological Oncology. 2017;35(S2):27. link to abstract
Consolidation after salvage therapy
BFR, then allo HSCT
BFR: Bendamustine, Fludarabine, Rituximab
Regimen
Chemotherapy
Targeted therapy
Immunotherapy
GVHD prophylaxis
- See article for GVHD prophylaxis information
One course
References
- Khouri IF, Wei W, Korbling M, Turturro F, Ahmed S, Alousi A, Anderlini P, Ciurea S, Jabbour E, Oran B, Popat UR, Rondon G, Bassett RL Jr, Gulbis A. BFR (bendamustine, fludarabine, and rituximab) allogeneic conditioning for chronic lymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma: reduced myelosuppression and GVHD. Blood. 2014 Oct 2;124(14):2306-12. Epub 2014 Aug 21. link to original article contains verified protocol link to PMC article PubMed