Authors: Matthew C Cheung Kevin R Imrie Heather A Leitch Laura Y ParkWyllie Rena Buckstein Tony Antoniou Mona R Loutfy
Publish Date: 2007/03/20
Volume: 86, Issue: 9, Pages: 631-638
Abstract
The optimal management of acquired immunodeficiency syndromerelated lymphoma ARL in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy cART is unclear We administered a survey to determine physician preferences and perceptions in the management of ARL and to assess the variability in treatment in Canada Of 196 lymphomatreating physicians 117 63 responded The majority of respondents 98 had a positive attitude towards the treatment of ARL Most physicians 66 recommended the concomitant use of cART in the care of their patients with ARL and a majority 86 recommended CHOPlike regimens cyclophosphamide doxorubicin vincristine and prednisone to form the backbone of chemotherapy The addition of rituximab was preferred by 43 of physicians while 39 and 18 would either not use rituximab or were unsure of the agent’s role respectively In logistic regression analysis use of rituximab was predicted only by location of practice province physicians from the province of British Colombia were much more likely to administer rituximab than practitioners from Ontario odds ratio 418 95 confidence interval 744–2351 p 0001 In the current cART era physicians have a positive attitude towards the treatment of ARL The majority prefer to use cART in combination with CHOP for ARL The use and perceived benefit of rituximab may be influenced by interprovincial formulary differences and regional variation in guideline recommendationsThis study was funded by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research CANFAR grant 018116 Dr Cheung receives funding from a Canadian Institutes of Health Research CIHR HIV/AIDS Fellowship We acknowledge the generous contribution of the physicians who agreed to participate in our survey study and we are grateful to Dr E Francis Cook for his guidance and mentorship during the research process
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