UNASSIGNED: e18500 Background: Combination of chemotherapy and the B-lymphocyte specific antibody rituximab improves overall survival in both diffuse large @entity1892 and @entity706 . However, so far this benefit has not been demonstrated in @entity1073 . METHODS: We used SEER-Medicare data to identify a cohort of @entity1 aged 66 years or older who were diagnosed with @entity1073 between 01/99 and 12/05, and who began first-line chemotherapy with or without rituximab within six months after diagnosis. @entity1 were followed from the date of diagnosis until @entity204 or the end of the study period (12/07), whichever came first. Medicare claims were used to identify chemotherapy, rituximab, and radiation. The date and cause of @entity204 (classified as all-cause or @entity5 -related) were obtained from Medicare administrative data. Multivariate (MV) Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine @entity1 @entity66 , and treatment factors associated with overall survival. Survival was evaluated over the entire observation period as well as after two years. RESULTS: There were 652 @entity1 who met the eligibility criteria. The mean age at diagnosis was 75 years; 58% had Stage IV disease; 67% had extranodal involvement; and 58% received rituximab. The median survival was 25 months for chemotherapy alone compared to 37 months for chemotherapy plus rituximab (P<0.001). In MV survival analysis, rituximab plus chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone was associated with statistically significantly lower all-cause mortality over the entire observation period (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.60; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.48-0.74). Results were similar when limiting the analysis to two years of follow-up (HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.41-0.71), or to @entity5 -specific mortality during the entire observation period (HR 0.62; 95% CI 0.41-0.71). CONCLUSIONS: First-line chemotherapy including rituximab is associated with significantly improved overall survival in older @entity1 diagnosed with @entity1073 compared to chemotherapy alone. These findings should be confirmed in prospective clinical trials.

Improved overall survival after the addition of rituximab to chemotherapy alone as first-line therapy for @entity1073 ( XXXX ): Evidence from SEER-Medicare.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'patient'] @entity66 :: ('MESH:D004194', 'Disease') :: ['demographic, disease'] @entity706 :: ('MESH:D008223', 'Disease') :: ['follicular lymphoma'] @entity5 :: ('MESH:D009369', 'Disease') :: ['cancer'] @entity1892 :: ('MESH:D016393', 'Disease') :: ['B-cell lymphoma'] @entity1073 :: ('MESH:D020522', 'Disease') :: ['MCL'] @entity204 :: ('MESH:D003643', 'Disease') :: ['death']
@entity1073 :: (MESH:D020522,Disease) :: ['MCL']
