Ibrutinib in Patients With Refractory/Relapsed Non-GCB Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Non-candidates to ASCT

The use of highly effective rituximab-containing therapy for treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) makes it more difficult to salvage relapsed or refractory patients. In addition, patients with advanced age or significant comorbidities, who are consequently not candidates for high-dose consolidative therapy, have a very poor prognosis. Prospective studies investigating new salvage regimens are essential. The combination of rituximab, gemcitabine and oxaliplatin (R-GEMOX) is an effective salvage regimen for patients with relapsing or refractory DLBCL, with a favourable toxicity profile for unfit and/or elderly patients. Ibrutinib, an oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is a potent killer of ABC DLBCL cell lines in vitro and in xenografts. It is expected that the combination of ibrutinib with R-GEMOX-Dexa could be effective and well tolerated. Thus, it is proposed an open-label, non-randomized, multicentre, phase II trial, to investigate the safety and efficacy of the combination of ibrutinib with rituximab, gemcitabine, oxaliplatine and dexamethasone followed by ibrutinib maintenance as salvage therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory non-GCB DLBCL non-candidates to stem cell transplant.