OnCo
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POLARIX

The trial that improved on R-CHOP for the first time in twenty years, by swapping vincristine for an ADC.

PFS at 2 years 76.7% vs 70.2% (HR 0.73); 5-year PFS 64.9% vs 59.1% (HR 0.77, JCO 2025). OS not significantly different (5-year 82.3% vs 79.5%, HR 0.85). Benefit concentrated in ABC-type and IPI 3-5 subgroups. Safety similar to R-CHOP. Basis for Pola-R-CHP as a frontline standard.

Setting
Untreated DLBCL, IPI 2-5, age 18-80: Pola-R-CHP vs R-CHOP
Phase
Phase 3
Sponsor
Roche
Registry
Headline result
2-year PFS 76.7% vs 70.2%, HR 0.73; 5-year OS HR 0.85 (NS).
Reported
2021
Enrolled
879
Replication
Consistent with the phase 1b/2 GO29044 cohort; POLAR BEAR (elderly) and real-world series broadly concordant; no OS benefit at 5 years.

Outcomes

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In plain words
What these results mean for people, not percentages
879 people took part
Progression-free survival at 2 yearsprimarysurrogate endpoint
  • 76.7 vs 70.2 out of 100 alive without the cancer growing at 2 years with Pola-R-CHP compared with R-CHOP; 6.5 more per 100.
  • Roughly one extra person helped for every 15 treated. That is a rough figure taken from the two percentages, not a guarantee for any one person.
  • Put another way, the treated group had about 27 percent lower chance of the event at any given time (hazard ratio 0.73, likely range 0.57 to 0.95).
  • This is a surrogate endpoint: it measures the cancer being controlled or absent on scans and tests, which often, but not always, translates into living longer.
Progression-free survival at 5 yearssurrogate endpoint
  • 64.9 vs 59.1 out of 100 alive without the cancer growing at 5 years with Pola-R-CHP compared with R-CHOP; 5.8 more per 100.
  • Roughly one extra person helped for every 17 treated. That is a rough figure taken from the two percentages, not a guarantee for any one person.
  • Put another way, the treated group had about 23 percent lower chance of the event at any given time (hazard ratio 0.77, likely range 0.62 to 0.97).
  • This is a surrogate endpoint: it measures the cancer being controlled or absent on scans and tests, which often, but not always, translates into living longer.
Overall survival at 5 yearssurvival endpoint
  • 82.3 vs 79.5 out of 100 alive at 5 years with Pola-R-CHP compared with R-CHOP; 2.8 more per 100.
  • Roughly one extra person helped for every 36 treated. That is a rough figure taken from the two percentages, not a guarantee for any one person.
  • Put another way, the treated group had about 15 percent lower chance of the event at any given time (hazard ratio 0.85, likely range 0.63 to 1.15).
  • The likely range for the hazard ratio crosses 1, so the difference could be due to chance.
  • Overall survival counts deaths from any cause, so it is the most direct measure of whether a treatment helps people live longer.
Be careful
  • These results apply to the people the trial enrolled: Untreated DLBCL, IPI 2-5, age 18-80: Pola-R-CHP vs R-CHOP. People in a different situation may not see the same effect.

Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.

879 participants enrolled.

Progression-free survival at 2 yearsprimary
HR 0.73 (0.57–0.95) · p = 0.02
Pola-R-CHP76.7 of 100
n = 440
R-CHOP70.2 of 100
n = 439
Source
Progression-free survival at 5 years
HR 0.77 (0.62–0.97)
Pola-R-CHP64.9 of 100
R-CHOP59.1 of 100
Source
Overall survival at 5 years
HR 0.85 (0.63–1.15)
Pola-R-CHP82.3 of 100
R-CHOP79.5 of 100
Source
EndpointArmnValueHR (95% CI)pSource
Progression-free survival at 2 yearsprimaryPola-R-CHP44076.7%0.73 (0.57–0.95)0.02link
R-CHOP43970.2%
Progression-free survival at 5 yearsPola-R-CHP64.9%0.77 (0.62–0.97)link
R-CHOP59.1%
Overall survival at 5 yearsPola-R-CHP82.3%0.85 (0.63–1.15)link
R-CHOP79.5%
Replication
Consistent with the phase 1b/2 GO29044 cohort; POLAR BEAR (elderly) and real-world series broadly concordant; no OS benefit at 5 years.

Key papers

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Connected

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Pages like this

not linked directly; found by shared links