Zanubrutinib Combined With Rituximab in the Treatment of Secondary HLH in B-cell Lymphoma

November 26, 2025 updated by: Xuefeng He, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University

The Study of Zanubrutinib Combined With Rituximab in the Treatment of Secondary Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis in B-cell Lymphoma

For patients who met the inclusion criteria, treatment regimens were administered: Rituximab 375 mg/m², intravenously, once weekly for 4 weeks.

Zanubrutinib 160 mg, orally, twice daily for 4 weeks. Combined drugs: prednisone 100 mg/m²/d, orally, d1-5; Ruxolitinib 15mg bid orally; With/without emapalumab as appropriate.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

For patients who met the inclusion criteria, treatment regimens were administered:

Rituximab 375 mg/m², intravenously, once weekly for 4 weeks (may be extended or adjusted according to clinical response).

Zanubrutinib: 160 mg, orally, twice daily for 4 weeks as for rutuximab. Dose can be adjusted or extended according to tolerance and efficacy.

When ≥3 grade hematological or intolerable non-hematological toxicity occur, zanubrutinib or rituximab will be suspended, and the dose will be reduced or resumed according to the toxicity grade after recovery. The dose of zanubrutinib should be adjusted according to the manufacturer's label with concomitant use of strong CYP3A inhibitor/inducer.

Combined drugs: prednisone 100 mg/m²/d, orally, d1-5; Ruxolitinib 15mg bid orally; With/without emapalumab as appropriate.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • According to the diagnostic criteria of HLH-04, the patients meet the diagnostic criteria of HLH;
  • HLH patients with definite or highly suspected evidence of B-cell lymphoma; Or HLH patients whose bone marrow flow cytometry show an increased proportion of CD20-positive B cells;
  • Age of 14-80 years old, both sexes;
  • Predicted survival beyond 1 month;
  • Baseline serum creatinine ≤1.5 times ULN; Fibrinogen could be corrected to ≥0.6g/L by infusion;
  • Negative serum HIV antibody; Either negative for HCV antibodies or positive for HCV antibodies but negative for HCV RNA. HBV surface antigen and HBV core antibody were negative. If any of the above was positive, HBV DNA titer in peripheral blood should be tested, and the titer was less than 1×10^3 copies /ml;
  • Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥50% measured by echocardiography;
  • The patient have no serious and uncontrollable infections, such as pulmonary infection, intestinal infection, and sepsis;
  • Women of childbearing age must be confirmed to be not pregnant by pregnancy test and willing to take effective measures to prevent pregnancy during the study period and ≥12 months after the last dose; Pregnant and lactating women cannot participate; All male subjects took contraceptive measures during the trial and ≥3 months after the last dose;
  • Patients should be able to sign informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with known severe allergy to rituximab, zanubrutinib, or other BTK inhibitors;
  • Severe active infections (including bacterial, viral or fungal infections) or uncontrolled co-infections;
  • Severe organ dysfunction including NYHA class III-IV heart failure or severe arrhythmia; Liver function: ALT or AST >5 times the upper limit, or severe cirrhosis; Renal function: CrCl <30 mL/min or severe renal insufficiency;
  • Combined with other malignant tumors and the expected survival time was less than 3 months;
  • Have received other experimental drugs and had not completed the drug washout period;
  • Pregnant or lactating women, or unwilling to use effective contraception;
  • any condition that would not be suitable for participation in the study or that might affect adherence, follow-up, or safety assessment, as judged by the investigator.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: intervention group

Rituximab 375 mg/m², intravenously, once weekly for 4 weeks (may be extended or adjusted according to clinical response).

Zanubrutinib: 160 mg, orally, twice daily for 4 weeks as for rutuximab. Dose can be adjusted or extended according to tolerance and efficacy.

When ≥3 grade hematological or intolerable non-hematological toxicity occur, zanubrutinib or rituximab will be suspended, and the dose will be reduced or resumed according to the toxicity grade after recovery. The dose of zanubrutinib should be adjusted according to the manufacturer's label with concomitant use of strong CYP3A inhibitor/inducer.

Combined drugs: prednisone 100 mg/m²/d, orally, d1-5; Ruxolitinib 15mg bid orally; With/without emapalumab as appropriate.
Drug: Rituximab
375 mg/m², intravenously, once weekly for 4 weeks
Other Names:
  • HALPRYZA
Drug: Zanubrutinib
160 mg, orally, twice daily for 4 weeks as for rutuximab.
Other Names:
  • Brukinsa

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
response rate of HLH after 4 weeks of treatment
Time Frame: after 4 weeks
RR will be evaluated according to the response evaluation criteria recommended by the International Histiocyte Society.
after 4 weeks
OS at week 8
Time Frame: after 8 weeks
overall survival after 8 weeks of treatment
after 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
AE
Time Frame: till the end of 4 weeks
Adverse events will be evaluated according to NCI-CTCAE 5.0.
till the end of 4 weeks
OS
Time Frame: at 4/8/12/24 weeks
OS at 1/2/3 months/ 6 months
at 4/8/12/24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Xuefeng He, doctor, department of hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 1, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
November 18, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 26, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 8, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 8, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 26, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HLH-003

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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