‘Long-term outcomes in patients with SMZL treated in the rituximab era.’

Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a very rare, incurable, but indolent disease of the spleen with:

• Generally favorable outcomes
• High long-term survival rates

Splenectomy is an effective treatment and resolves both symptoms and cytopenias related to splenomegaly in most patients.

Rituximab, when used as a single agent in combination with chemotherapy, is also a viable treatment alternative.

However, the long-term treatment outcomes are not well-established. There are no:

• Randomized clinical trials comparing these two treatment modalities
• Tools to aid clinicians in the decision between the available treatment modalities

In addition, randomized clinical trials are not likely to be conducted due to:

• The favorable outcomes in general— that is, the low number of events
• The rareness of the disease

In our study, we wish to gather detailed medical records from more than a thousand patients—across three continents and more than 25 centers— in a retrospective, real-world setting.

With this large dataset, we wish to:

• Describe the outcomes of SMZL
• Generate predictive risk scores for first-line treatment with rituximab-based therapies versus splenectomy, comparing survival outcomes

With the grant from EHA, we are able to finalize the study with the necessary statistical assistance and to cover a significant portion of other study-related activities. We are very thrilled about the support and are excited to share the data once they are complete.

You can find out more about the status of this project by reading the latest update from Dr Ahmed Ludvigsen Al-Mashhadi.

• Splenic marginal zone lymphoma study update, February 2024.