About this study
SJBC3 is a Phase III clinical trial aimed at preventing your child’s newly diagnosed mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia from coming back after treatment. Mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas are fast-growing cancers; however, they are also one of the most treatable and curable childhood cancers.
Effective treatment, resulting in long-term remission (no sign and symptoms of disease), occurs when patients are treated with several strong chemotherapy drugs. Although most patients are cured from their cancer, some may experience serious side effects from treatment later in life. In this trial, St. Jude researchers will look at developing better treatments while trying to reduce some of the possible long-term side effects that are common with strong chemotherapy drugs.
Purpose of this clinical trial
This study has two parts—treatment and biology. In the biology part, researchers will study the normal and cancerous blood and tissue samples from participants in the U.S. and around the world. Researchers will study differences between the samples to learn more about:
- How changes in normal cells lead to mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children
- How well a person’s disease will respond to medicine and what medicines may work best
In the treatment part, St. Jude researchers will study the long-term side effects of treatment in participants from St. Jude and Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego. Researchers will use what they learn to help develop more comprehensive plans for managing and/or preventing late effects of therapy.
Treatment
Your child’s specific mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis will determine the treatment plan that will be used. First, all participants will receive several tests to find out where cancer cells are in the body (cancer staging). Your child will be placed into one of three groups based on whether your child’s cancer has a high, standard or low risk of coming back after treatment. Participants in all of the treatment groups will be given combination chemotherapy (multiple cancer drugs). The intensity of the three groups varies by drugs used, drug dosage and duration of therapy.
Participants who have a type of B-cell lymphoma called mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, or other higher risk B-cell lymphomas, will receive an antibody called rituximab, in addition to combination chemotherapy. An antibody is a man-made version of immune system proteins that finds and attaches to the surface of cancer cells.
Rituximab has been given safely along with standard chemotherapy drugs to adults and some children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Eligibility overview
- 21 years of age or younger
- Newly diagnosed mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia
- No previous treatment (no more than 72 hours of steroids, one intrathecal chemotherapy treatment, and/or emergency radiation)