Clinical efficacy and safety of subcutaneous rituximab in non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The role of subcutaneous (SC) rituximab in the efficacy and safety to non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is not clear enough. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis, to assess the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous rituximab to NHL.

Method: A full-scale search was carried out based on the set search terms in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL until 12 October 2022 to identify relevant studies of subcutaneous rituximab for NHL. The efficacy and safety outcomes included complete response (CR) plus unconfirmed complete response (CRu), adverse events (AEs), grade ≥3 AEs, serious adverse events (SAEs), administration-related reactions (ARRs), adverse reaction rates.

Results: From a total of 758 studies, 9 trials were eligible. The CR/CRu of patients with NHL receiving SC rituximab was 57%, 55% for Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and 54% for Follicular lymphoma (FL). The meta-analysis performed on safety demonstrated that AEs of NHL patients with SC rituximab was 85%, grade ≥3 AEs was 38%, SAE was 27% and ARR was 33%. The result also showed that SC rituximab had a high risk of neutropenia and nausea.

Conclusion: For NHL patients, there is no significant difference in the efficacy between subcutaneous rituximab and conventional therapy, while subcutaneous injection can shorten exposure time in the hospital and reduce the risk of infection.