ArticleEClinicalMedicine2025
Rituximab is associated with an increased risk of malaria among adult lymphoma patients in Malawi: a prospective observational cohort.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- EBV Type 1 versus Type 2: A determinant of NK cell anti-tumor activity in Burkitt lymphoma.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Background: Rituximab has become a standard of care for many B-cell neoplasms, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, the impact of rituximab-induced B-cell deficiency on the risk of malaria for patients residing in endemic areas is unknown. Thus, this study evaluated the incidence of and risk factors for malaria among DLBCL participants in Malawi with a specific interest on those treated with rituximab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone. Methods: We conducted a post hoc analysis of a prospective, observational cohort of 96 participants, aged ≥18 years, with DLBCL treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) or rituximab plus CHOP (R-CHOP) from June 2013 to December 2019 (NCT0266710). We defined symptomatic malaria as a positive malaria rapid diagnostic test or blood film performed for clinical diagnosis. We also retrospectively measured Findings: Fourteen participants developed symptomatic malaria; 5/59 (8%) had been treated with CHOP and 9/37 (24%) R-CHOP (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.1-12; p = 0.039). Symptomatic malaria was not associated with age, performance status, or HIV infection. Thirty-two participants had HRP2 antigenemia; 24 (43%) CHOP and 8 (28%) R-CHOP (p = 0.18). Among HRP2-positive cases, antigenemia was significantly higher in R-CHOP participants (3.6 ng/mL vs 0.92 ng/mL; p = 0.011). There were no significant changes in malaria-specific antibody levels between treatment groups. Interpretation: This may suggest that rituximab increases the risk of symptomatic malaria in adult DLBCL patients. Further studies are needed to confirm this association and to understand which mediators of protective immunity are impaired and whether antimalarial chemoprophylaxis is warranted in such settings. Funding: This study was funded by the United States National Institutes of Health (K01TW011470, U54CA254564, U54CA190152, and K24AI134990).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.