New cocktail targets Hard-to-Treat lymphoma
NCT ID NCT03458260
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a combination of the drug pixantrone plus three other medicines (rituximab, ifosfamide, and etoposide) in 74 adults with a fast-growing type of lymphoma that had returned or not responded to treatment. The goal was to see how many patients had their tumors shrink or disappear after two cycles. The results could point to a new option for people who have run out of standard treatments.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Pixantrone (Pixuvri) combined with rituximab, ifosfamide, and etoposide
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination could offer a new treatment option for patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma who have not responded to prior therapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase (Phase 2) study with no comparison group, so results may not be definitive. The treatment involves chemotherapy drugs with known side effects like infection and organ damage.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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74 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Dec 2018
- Finished
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Dec 2024
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Histologically proven CD20+ aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), de novo or transformed DLBCL from previously untreated low grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma or grade 3b follicular lymphoma) as per the World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 criteria 2. Relapsed or refractory disease, defined as follows: 1. Patients eligible for ASCT who failed to achieve a Complete Response (CR) after at least one salvage therapy (eg, Rituximab-Etoposide- Methylprednisolone - Cytarabine - Cisplatin (R-ESHAP) or Rituximab- Dexamethasone- High-dose Cytarabine - Cisplatin (R-DHAP), patients who were previously refractory to Rituximab-Ifosfamide-Cytarabine-Etoposide (R-ICE) (stable disease or progressive disease) are not eligible to the study) 2. Or patients in first relapse after Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT) 3. Or patients not eligible for ASCT who failed to achieve a CR after at least one prior treatment (and no more than 4 previous lines) or in relapse after at least one prior treatment (and no more than 4 previous lines). 3. Age \> or =18 years 4. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status \< or = 2 5. Subjects must have evaluable disease based on positron emission tomography (PET-CT) scan 6. Minimum life expectancy of 6 months 7. Signed written informed consent 8. Patient covered by any social security system 9. Men must agree to use a barrier method of contraception during the treatment period and until 6 months after the last dose of chemotherapy 10. Women of childbearing potential must agree to use an adequate method of contraception, such as oral contraceptives, intrauterine device, or barrier method of contraception during the treatment period and until 12 months after the last dose of chemotherapy Exclusion Criteria: 1. Any other histological type of lymphoma (Burkitt lymphoma, mantle-cell lymphoma…) 2. Any history of previously treated indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma 3. Symptomatic central nervous system or meningeal involvement by the lymphoma 4. Contraindication to any drug contained in the Pixantrone with rituximab, ifosfamide and etoposide regimen 5. Treatment with any investigational drug within 28 days before the first study drug administration 6. Any of the following lab abnormalities unless related to the lymphoma or bone marrow infiltration: 1. Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \< 1.0 G/L 2. Platelet count \< 100 G/L 3. Creatinine clearance \< 40 mL/min for patients \< 70 y, or creatinine clearance \< 60 mL/min for patients \> or = 70 y, by Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) method. 4. Total bilirubin level \> 1,5 x Upper Limit of Normal (ULN) 5. Serum ASpartate Transaminase (AST) or ALanine Transaminase (ALT)\> 2,5x ULN 7. Known Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) positive 8. Active hepatitis C virus (HCV) (Positive HCV serology with positive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for HCV RNA) 9. Active hepatitis B (HB) : 1. HBsAg positive 2. HBsAg negative, Ac anti-HBs positive and/or Ac anti-HB core (HBc) positive (Patients who are seropositive due to a history of hepatitis B vaccine are eligible. Patients with Ac anti-HBs positive and/or Ac anti-HBc positive and no history of hepatitis B vaccine are eligible only if PCR for HB virus DNA is negative) 10. Cumulative dose of doxorubicine or equivalent \> 450mg/m2 11. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \< 50% measured by echocardiography or isotopic method 12. Congestive heart failure (any stage from New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification) 13. Uncontrolled arterial hypertension 14. Severe rhythmic heart disease 15. Uncontrolled ischemic heart disease, including patients with stable angina 16. Significant valvular heart disease 17. History of a myocardial infarction within 6 months prior to enrolment 18. Pregnant or lactating females 19. Prior history of malignancies with the exception of non-melanoma skin tumors (basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma) or in situ cervical carcinoma 20. Any serious active disease or co-morbid medical condition according to the investigator's decision 21. Adult person unable to provide informed consent because of intellectual impairment, any serious medical condition, laboratory abnormality or psychiatric illness 22. Use of any standard or experimental anti-cancer drug therapy within 28 days before the first study drug administration 23. Use of corticosteroids prior to baseline PET-CT 24. Person deprived of his/her liberty by a judicial or administrative decision 25. Person hospitalized without consent 26. Adult person under legal protection
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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AZ Sint Jan
Bruges, Belgium
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CH d'Avignon
Avignon, France
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CH de Cornouaille
Quimper, France
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CHRU de Lille
Lille, France
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CHU Jean Minjoz
Besançon, France
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CHU Lyon Sud
Lyon, France
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CHU de Poitiers
Poitiers, France
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CHU de Rouen
Rouen, France
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CHU de Strasbourg
Strasbourg, France
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CHU de Tours
Tours, France
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CHU de la Conception
Marseille, France
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Centre Hospitalier Annecy Genevois
Pringy, France
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Centre Hospitalier William Morey
Chalon-sur-Saône, France
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Centre Hospitalier de Jolimont
Haine-Saint-Paul, Belgium
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Centre Hospitalier de la Côte Basque
Bayonne, France
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Centre Lacassagne
Nice, France
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Clinique Victor Hugo
Le Mans, France
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Hopital La Pitié Salpétriere
Paris, France
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Hôpital Haut-Lévèque
Bordeaux, France
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Hôpital Robert Debré
Reims, France
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Hôpital St louis
Paris, France
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Institut Jules Bordet - Centre des tumeurs de l'ULB
Brussels, Belgium
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