Dose-Adjusted EPOCH Chemotherapy and Rituximab (CD20+) in Previously Untreated Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Background: The treatment of the intermediate and aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in adults and children commonly induces complete responses in a sizable fraction of the treated population, and about 2/3 of the complete responders appear to have prolonged disease-free survival. The present study assesses the activity and tolerability in previously untreated patients of a regimen of etoposide phosphate, prednisone, vincristine sulfate (Oncovin), cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin hydrochloride (hydroxydaunorubicin)(EPOCH) infusional chemotherapy given intensively with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) support. Objectives: Primary: Assess complete response (CR) and progression-free survival (PFS) of dose-adjusted EPOCH-Rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) with G-CSF in aggressive B-cell lymphomas. Eligibility: Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas in the following categories: mediastinal gray zone lymphoma (MGZL) and primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma (PMBL). Patients greater than or equal to 12 years old. Any Stage for PMBL and MGZL. No prior systemic chemotherapy. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative. Design: This study will estimate the complete response rate of a group of previously untreated patients and the extent to which EPOCH infusional drug delivery accompanied by a hematopoietic growth factor can increase the dose intensity of treatment. Patients receive prednisone orally for 5 days, a 96-hour infusion of vincristine, doxorubicin, and etoposide, and a bolus of cyclophosphamide on day 5. Cycles are repeated every 21 days for a total of 6-8 cycles. Patients with cluster of differentiation 20 (CD20) expressing tumors (i.e., mature B-cell lymphomas) will also receive rituximab, the humanized monoclonal antibody against the CD20 receptor on day 1 of each cycle. A total of 348 patients will be enrolled on this protocol.