Diffuse Large B Cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the Vulnerable/Frail Elderly. A Multicentric Randomized Phase II Trial

RATIONALE: Monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, can block cancer growth in different ways. Some block the ability of cancer cells to grow and spread. Others find cancer cells and help kill them or carry cancer-killing substances to them. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as cyclophosphamide, vincristine sulfate, prednisone, and liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known whether rituximab and combination chemotherapy are more effective when given together with or without liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate in treating older patients with diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying the side effects of giving rituximab together with cyclophosphamide, vincristine sulfate, and prednisone with or without liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate and to see how well it works in treating older patients with stage II, stage III, or stage IV diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

OBJECTIVES: Primary * To assess the therapeutic efficacy of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine sulfate, and prednisone with vs without liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate, in terms of complete remission rate at 6 months, in vulnerable or frail elderly patients with stage II, III, or IV diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. * To assess the safety of these regimens in these patients. Secondary * To evaluate the progression-free survival, event-free survival, and overall survival rates at 6 and 24 months in patients treated with these regimens. * To evaluate the overall response rate at 6 and 24 months in patients treated with these regimens. * To evaluate the duration of complete remission in patients treated with these regimens. * To evaluate the acute side effects (according to the International CTC scale) of these regimens in these patients. * To evaluate the geriatric condition and quality of life of patients treated with these regimens. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I (R-COP regimen): Patients receive rituximab IV, cyclophosphamide IV, and vincristine sulfate IV on day 1. Patients also receive oral prednisone on days 1-5 and filgrastim subcutaneously (SC) on days 8-14 or pegfilgrastim SC on day 2. Treatment repeats every 21 days for at least 3 courses. * Arm II (R-COPY regimen): Patients receive rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine sulfate, prednisone, and filgrastim or pegfilgrastim as in arm I. Patients also receive liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin citrate IV on day 1. Treatment repeats every 21 days for at least 3 courses. After 3 courses of R-COP or R-COPY, patients undergo evaluation. Patients with disease progression or a response of \< 25% are removed from the study. Patients with a response of ≥ 25% receive 3 more courses of R-COP or R-COPY, followed by rituximab IV alone on day 1 of courses 7 and 8 in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After the completion of chemotherapy, some patients may undergo radiotherapy. Patients complete quality of life and geriatric assessment questionnaires at baseline and periodically during study treatment. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 3 months for 1 year, every 6 months for 2 years.