Modified DHAP Versus Standard DHAP in Relapsed/Refractory Diffused Large B-cell Lymphoma. (MOD-DHAP)

August 6, 2026 updated by: Abbas Khokhar, King Edward Medical University

Comparison of Effectiveness and Toxicities of Modified DHAP Protocol With Standard DHAP Protocol in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Diffused Large B-cell Lymphoma.

This Phase III randomized controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness and toxicity profile of a modified DHAP regimen compared to the standard DHAP regimen in adult patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The DHAP regimen (cisplatin, cytarabine, dexamethasone) is widely used as salvage therapy but is associated with significant toxicities, including renal dysfunction and severe myelosuppression. The modified DHAP protocol fractionates cisplatin and cytarabine administration to reduce nephrotoxicity, improve tolerability, and potentially allow outpatient treatment.

A total of 74 patients will be randomized (37 per arm) to receive either the modified or standard DHAP regimen. The primary endpoint is overall response rate (ORR) assessed by RECIL 2017 criteria. Secondary endpoints include progression-free survival (PFS), toxicity incidence and severity graded by CTCAE, and quality of life measured by EORTC QLQ-C30.

The study anticipates that the modified DHAP regimen will demonstrate comparable or superior efficacy with reduced severe toxicities, shorter hospital stays, and improved patient satisfaction. Findings may support transitioning DHAP into outpatient administration, optimizing healthcare resource utilization in Pakistan.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study is a randomized controlled trial designed to compare the effectiveness and toxicity profile of a modified DHAP regimen versus the standard DHAP regimen in adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

DLBCL is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with a significant proportion of patients experiencing relapse or refractory disease after initial therapy. The standard DHAP regimen (cisplatin, cytarabine, dexamethasone) has been widely used as salvage therapy, achieving response rates of up to 70%. However, its use is limited by severe toxicities, including renal dysfunction, infections, and profound myelosuppression.

The modified DHAP regimen alters the administration schedule of cisplatin and cytarabine. Cisplatin is fractionated into smaller doses over multiple days rather than a single 24-hour continuous infusion, and cytarabine is administered over two consecutive days. This modification is hypothesized to reduce nephrotoxicity, improve tolerability, and allow outpatient administration, while maintaining or enhancing cytotoxic synergy between cisplatin and cytarabine.

A total of 74 patients will be enrolled and randomized into two arms (37 per arm):

  • Arm A (Modified DHAP): Dexamethasone 40 mg PO/IV days 1-4; Cisplatin 50 mg/m² over 6 hours days 1-2; Cytarabine 2 g/m² IV over 3 hours days 1-2.
  • Arm B (Standard DHAP): Dexamethasone 40 mg PO/IV days 1-4; Cisplatin 100 mg/m² continuous infusion over 24 hours day 1; Cytarabine 2×2 g/m² IV over 3 hours day 2.

Primary endpoint: Overall response rate (ORR), defined as complete or partial response per RECIL 2017 criteria.

Secondary endpoints: Progression-free survival (PFS), toxicity incidence and severity graded by CTCAE, and quality of life (QoL) assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire.

Patients will be followed for treatment response, adverse events, and QoL changes. Toxicities will be documented using CTCAE forms, with particular attention to hematological toxicities (anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia) and non-hematological toxicities (renal dysfunction, hepatotoxicity, mucositis, neuropathy).

The study anticipates that the modified DHAP regimen will demonstrate comparable or superior efficacy with a reduced incidence of severe toxicities, shorter hospital stays, and improved patient satisfaction. If successful, this regimen could support the transition of DHAP into outpatient administration, optimizing healthcare resource utilization in Pakistan and improving access to therapy for patients with poor prognoses.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

74

Phase

  • Phase 3

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 Backup

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
    • Punjab Province
      • Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, 54000
        • Recruiting
        • Mayo Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Inbsaat Iqbal, MBBS, MD
        • Sub-Investigator:
          • Hafiz Muhammad Ehsan Arshad, MBBS

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

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Histologically confirmed relapsed or refractory DLBCL
  • Adults ≥ 18 years
  • At least one prior line of therapy for lymphoma
  • ECOG performance status 0-2
  • Ability to provide informed consent and comply with study requirements
  • Adequate organ function:
  • Hematologic: ANC ≥ 1,000 cells/mm³, Platelets ≥ 75,000 cells/mm³
  • Renal: Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN
  • Hepatic: Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 × ULN, AST/ALT ≤ 2.5 × ULN (if no liver metastases)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of other malignancies within last 5 years (except non-melanoma skin cancer or localized prostate cancer)
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Significant uncontrolled medical conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease, uncontrolled diabetes)
  • Receipt of investigational agents within 30 days prior to enrollment
  • Known severe allergic reactions to DHAP components (dexamethasone, cytarabine, cisplatin)
  • Concurrent anti-cancer treatments (chemotherapy, radiotherapy) during study period

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Modified DHAP
Dexamethasone 40 mg PO/IV days 1-4; Cisplatin 50 mg/m² over 6 hours days 1-2; Cytarabine 2 g/m² IV over 3 hours days 1-2.
Drug: Cisplatin (modified schedule)
The modified DHAP regimen alters the administration schedule of cisplatin and cytarabine. Cisplatin is fractionated into smaller doses over multiple days rather than a single 24-hour continuous infusion.
Drug: Dexametasone
The standard dexamethasone dosing regimen per RECIL 2017 criteria
Other Names:
  • Dexa
Drug: Cytarabine (Ara-C) (Modified schedule)
The modified DHAP regimen alters the administration schedule of cisplatin and cytarabine. Cytarabine is administered over two consecutive days.
Active Comparator: standard DHAP
Dexamethasone 40 mg PO/IV days 1-4; Cisplatin 100 mg/m² continuous infusion over 24 hours day 1; Cytarabine 2×2 g/m² IV over 3 hours day 2.
Drug: Cisplatin

The standard DHAP regimen defined as follows:

  • Dexamethasone: 40 mg orally or intravenously, given daily on days 1-4
  • Cisplatin: 100 mg/m² administered intravenously as a continuous infusion over 24 hours on day 1
  • Cytarabine: 2 × 2 g/m² intravenously over 3 hours, given on day 2 (two doses, 12 hours apart) This cycle is repeated every 21 days for 2-4 cycles, depending on patient tolerance and response.
Other Names:
  • Cytarabine
  • dexamethasone
Drug: Dexametasone
The standard dexamethasone dosing regimen per RECIL 2017 criteria
Other Names:
  • Dexa
Drug: Cytarabine (Ara-C)

The standard DHAP regimen defined as follows:

  • Dexamethasone: 40 mg orally or intravenously, given daily on days 1-4
  • Cisplatin: 100 mg/m² administered intravenously as a continuous infusion over 24 hours on day 1
  • Cytarabine: 2 × 2 g/m² intravenously over 3 hours, given on day 2 (two doses, 12 hours apart) This cycle is repeated every 21 days for 2-4 cycles, depending on patient tolerance and response.
Other Names:
  • Ara-C

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Overall Response rate (ORR)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

The Overall Response Rate (ORR) is defined as the percentage of patients achieving either a Complete Response (CR) or a Partial Response (PR), assessed according to RECIL 2017 criteria.

  • Complete Response (CR):
  • Disappearance of all target lesions
  • Lymph nodes <10 mm
  • Normalization of FDG-PET (Deauville 1-3)
  • No bone marrow involvement, no new lesions
  • Partial Response (PR):
  • ≥30% decrease in the sum of longest diameters of target lesions
  • FDG-PET positive (Deauville 4-5)
  • May still have bone marrow involvement
  • No new lesions
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Complete Response (CR)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
  • Complete Response (CR):
  • Disappearance of all target lesions
  • Lymph nodes <10 mm
  • Normalization of FDG-PET (Deauville 1-3)
  • No bone marrow involvement, no new lesions
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Partial Response (PR)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
  • Partial Response (PR):
  • ≥30% decrease in the sum of longest diameters of target lesions
  • FDG-PET positive (Deauville 4-5)
  • May still have bone marrow involvement
  • No new lesions
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Minor Response (MR)
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
  • ≥10% decrease in the sum of longest diameters of target lesions, but not enough to qualify as PR (≥30%)
  • FDG-PET may still show uptake (any finding)
  • Bone marrow involvement may persist
  • No new lesions
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Stable Disease
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
  • <10% decrease or ≤20% increase in the sum of longest diameters of target lesions
  • FDG-PET findings may remain positive
  • Bone marrow involvement may persist
  • No new lesions
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Progressive Disease
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
  • >20% increase in the sum of longest diameters of target lesions
  • For small lymph nodes (<15 mm post-therapy), a minimum absolute increase of 5 mm and long diameter >15 mm is required
  • Appearance of new lesions automatically qualifies as PD
  • Any FDG-PET finding consistent with progression
  • Bone marrow involvement may persist or newly appear
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Quality of Life (QoL)
Time Frame: at the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Quality of Life (QoL) defined and measured by EORTC QLQ-C30, a standardized, cancer-specific questionnaire developed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer.
at the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Progression free Survival (PFS)
Time Frame: From enrollment to up to 2 years post-treatment
the time from randomization (or study entry) until objective disease progression or death from any cause, whichever occurs first as assessed using standardized tumor response criteria (RECIL)
From enrollment to up to 2 years post-treatment
Adverse Events
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Adverse events graded as per CTCAE version 5.0

  • Haematological: anaemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia
  • Non-haematological: renal dysfunction, hepatotoxicity, mucositis, nausea, and neuropathy
From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

King Edward Medical University

Investigators

  • Study Director: Inbsaat Iqbal, MBBS, MD, King Edward Medical 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)

March 18, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 20, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 20, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 28, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 31, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 10, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KEMU-IRB-77-RC-2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

IPD will not be shared but could be provided by the principal investigator (PI) up on reasonable request

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.

Subscribe