{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T02:52:50Z","timestamp":1768272770605,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,10]],"date-time":"2023-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1678406400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>In the setting of follicular lymphoma (FL), frontline therapy with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHOP) has represented for many years the standard of care for patients with symptomatic advanced disease. More recently, the combination of bendamustine plus rituximab (R-B) has emerged as an alternative therapeutic option. We present a retrospective, multicenter, observational study aimed at comparing outcomes and toxicities observed in 145 patients diagnosed with grade 3A FL treated with a first line therapy in 15 Italian Fondazione Italiana Linfomi centers between the 1st of January 2014 and the 30th of May 2018. Seventy patients were treated with R-B and 75 with R-CHOP. In the R-B group, the median age at the time of diagnosis was 67 years compared with 59 years in the R-CHOP group. Patients in R-B group achieved a similar overall response rate (96% <jats:italic>vs.<\/jats:italic> 99%) and a better complete remission rate (87% <jats:italic>vs.<\/jats:italic> 80%, <jats:italic>p=0.035<\/jats:italic>) compared with patients in R-CHOP group. Progression free survival (PFS) was similar between individual treated with R-CHOP and R-B (48- month PFS 77.7% <jats:italic>vs.<\/jats:italic> 76.6% respectively, <jats:italic>p=0.745<\/jats:italic>). The overall survival was significantly longer with R-CHOP treatment (HR=0.16; 95% IC, 0.04-0.74; <jats:italic>p=0.007<\/jats:italic>); however, no statistical significant difference was observed after adjustment for age. With the limitations of the study design, our results suggest that both R-B and R-CHOP seem to be valid first-line treatment options in FL3A.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2023.1120967","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,10]],"date-time":"2023-03-10T04:44:38Z","timestamp":1678423478000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Comparison of first-line treatment with bendamustine plus rituximab versus R-CHOP for patients with follicular lymphoma grade 3A: Results of a retrospective study from the Fondazione Italiana 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