R Aultman

To evaluate the impact of treatment on health states that affect patients' quality of life in advanced follicular lymphoma. A quality-adjusted time without symptoms of disease or toxicity of treatment (Q-TwiST) analysis was performed on data from a phase III clinical trial (Marcus et al, 2008). Cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone plus rituximab (R-CVP)-treated patients gained a mean of 15.17 months in TWiST, 8.33 months in Q-TwiST, and 11.30 months less in disease relapse, without increase in toxicity compared with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP)-treated patients. Rituximab plus CVP-treated patients reached a significant and clinically meaningful improvement within 12 months in quality-adjusted survival compared with CVP.