Safety of switching from intravenous to subcutaneous rituximab during first‐line treatment of patients with non‐Hodgkin lymphoma: the Spanish population of the MabRella study

Rituximab is a standard treatment for non‐Hodgkin diffuse large B‐cell (DLBCL) and follicular (FL) lymphomas. A subcutaneous formulation was developed to improve the resource use of intravenous rituximab, with comparable efficacy and safety profiles except for increased administration‐related reactions (ARRs). MabRella was a phase IIIb trial to assess the safety of switching from intravenous to subcutaneous administration of rituximab during first‐line induction/maintenance for DLBCL or FL, focusing on ARRs. Efficacy, satisfaction and quality of life were also assessed. Patients received subcutaneous rituximab plus standard induction chemotherapy for DLBCL or FL for 4–7 cycles, and/or every 2 months maintenance monotherapy for FL for 6–12 cycles. The study included 140 patients: DLBCL, n = 29; FL, n = 111. Ninety‐five percent of patients experienced adverse events, reaching grade ≥3 in 38·6% and were serious in 30·0%. AARs occurred in 48·6%, mostly (84·9%) at the injection site, with only 2·1% of patients reaching grade 3. The end‐of‐induction complete/unconfirmed complete response rate was 69·6%. After a median follow‐up of 33·5 months, median disease‐/event‐/progression‐free and overall survivals were not attained. The Rituximab Administration Satisfaction Questionnaire showed improvements in overall satisfaction and the EuroQoL‐5D a good quality‐of‐life perception at induction/maintenance end. Therefore, switching to subcutaneous rituximab showed no new safety issues and maintained efficacy with improved satisfaction and quality of life.