Dr. Advani on EPOCH-R in B Cell Lymphoma

Ranjana Advani, MD, Professor of Medicine and Oncology, Stanford University, details the difference between EPOCH-R and R-CHOP chemotherapy.

Dose-adjusted EPOCH-R is an infusion chemotherapy that uses similar drugs to R-CHOP. In preliminary data, patients overcame poor prognostic significance of Bcl-2 overexpression.

While the results of upcoming trials will give more information, Advani says, dose-adjusted EPOCH-R has become the standard of care in patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. In this disease, treatment with R-CHOP usually requires radiotherapy as well but with EPOCH-R alone, cure rates are well above 90% and no radiotherapy is needed.