{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T05:23:00Z","timestamp":1791868980140,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"American Society of Hematology","issue":"23","content-domain":{"domain":["ashpublications.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>The Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) conducted the SAKK 35\/03 randomized trial (NCT00227695) to investigate different rituximab monotherapy schedules in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). Here, we report their long-term treatment outcome. Two-hundred and seventy FL patients were treated with 4 weekly doses of rituximab monotherapy (375 mg\/m2); 165 of them, achieving at least a partial response, were randomly assigned to maintenance rituximab (375 mg\/m2 every 2 months) on a short-term (4 administrations; n = 82) or a long-term (up to a maximum of 5 years; n = 83) schedule. The primary end point was event-free survival (EFS). At a median follow-up period of 10 years, median EFS was 3.4 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-5.5) in the short-term arm and 5.3 years (95% CI, 3.5-7.5) in the long-term arm. Using the prespecified log-rank test, this difference is not statistically significant (P = .39). There also was not a statistically significant difference in progression-free survival or overall survival (OS). Median OS was 11.0 years (95% CI, 11.0-NA) in the short-term arm and was not reached in the long-term arm (P = .80). The incidence of second cancers was similar in the 2 arms (9 patients after short-term maintenance and 10 patients after long-term maintenance). No major late toxicities emerged. No significant benefit of prolonged maintenance became evident with longer follow-up. Notably, in symptomatic patients in need of immediate treatment, the 10-year OS rate was 83% (95% CI, 73-89%). These findings indicate that single-agent rituximab may be a valid first-line option for symptomatic patients with advanced FL.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1182\/bloodadvances.2020002858","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,5]],"date-time":"2020-12-05T05:39:01Z","timestamp":1607146741000},"page":"5951-5957","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1182\/blood.2019cm0000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["Prolonged rituximab maintenance in follicular lymphoma patients: long-term results of the SAKK 35\/03 randomized trial"],"prefix":"10.1182","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8816-5464","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alden A.","family":"Moccia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Medical Oncology Clinic, Ospedale San Giovanni, Bellinzona, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christian","family":"Taverna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Oncology, Kantonsspital M\u00fcnsterlingen, M\u00fcnsterlingen, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6108-4832","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"S\u00e4mi","family":"Sch\u00e4r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Coordinating Center, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2977-4208","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Vanazzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, European Institute of Oncology Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Milan, Italy;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"St\u00e9phanie","family":"Rondeau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Coordinating Center, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Felicitas","family":"Hitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kantonsspital Saint Gallen, Saint Gallen, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7510-9041","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Walter","family":"Mingrone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kantonsspital Olten, Olten, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6055-5257","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Pabst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lidija","family":"Cevreska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Clinic for Hematology, Skopje, Macedonia;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2009-824X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Auro","family":"del Giglio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hematology and Oncology, ABC Fondation School of Medicine, Sao Paulo, Brazil;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6194-3702","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Johann","family":"Raats","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CancerCare Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Rauch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5892-7568","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel A.","family":"Vorobiof","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute Sandton Oncology Center, Johannesburg, South Africa;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreas","family":"Lohri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology\/Hematology, Kantonsspital Baselland, Liestal, Switzerland; and"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"C\u00e9line","family":"Ruegsegger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Coordinating Center, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christine","family":"Biaggi Rudolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Coordinating Center, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Corinne","family":"Rusterholz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Coordinating Center, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2265-6559","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefanie","family":"Hayoz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research Coordinating Center, Bern, Switzerland;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michele","family":"Ghielmini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland, Medical Oncology Clinic, Ospedale San Giovanni, Bellinzona, 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