Rituximab decreases the risk of lymphoma in patients with HIV-associated multicentric Castleman disease

Blood. 2012 Mar 8;119(10):2228-33. doi: 10.1182/blood-2011-08-376012. Epub 2012 Jan 5.

Abstract

HIV-associated multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is associated with a high risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Rituximab is effective in HIV-MCD, but its impact on NHL incidence remains unknown. From a single-center prospective cohort, 113 patients were identified with a diagnosis of HIV-MCD for the present study. To compare the incidence of NHL between patients who had received a rituximab-based treatment (R+ group) and those who had not (R- group), data were analyzed before and after matching on propensity scores and after multiple imputation. The mean follow-up was 4.2 years. In the R- group (n = 65), 17 patients developed NHL (incidence, 69.6 of 1000 person years). In the R+ group (n = 48), only 1 patient developed NHL (incidence, 4.2 of 1000 person years). Based on the propensity score-matching method, a significant decrease in the incidence of NHL was observed in patients who had been treated with rituximab (hazard ratio, 0.09; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.70). Ten Kaposi sarcoma (KS) exacerbations and 1 newly diagnosed KS were observed in 9 patients after rituximab therapy. Rituximab was associated with an 11-fold lower risk of developing lymphoma. KS exacerbation was the most challenging adverse event after rituximab therapy.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / adverse effects
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / therapeutic use*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / adverse effects
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Castleman Disease / complications
  • Castleman Disease / drug therapy*
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • HIV Infections / complications*
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / prevention & control*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Rituximab
  • Sarcoma, Kaposi / chemically induced
  • Survival Analysis

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Rituximab

Supplementary concepts

  • Multi-centric Castleman's Disease