• Alessandra Tedeschi, Paola Picardi, Simone Ferrero, Giulia Benevolo, Gloria Margiotta Casaluci, Marzia Varettoni, Claudia Baratè, Marina Motta, Guido Gini, Maria Cecilia Goldaniga, Carlo Visco, Francesco Zaja, Valeria Belsito Petrizi, Erika Ravelli, Massimo Gentile, Marina Aurora Urbano, Silvia Franceschetti, Paola Ghione, Lorella Orsucci, Anna Maria Frustaci, Gianluca Gaidano, Umberto Vitolo, and Enrica Morra.
• a Department of Hematology , Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital , Milano , Italy.
• Leuk. Lymphoma. 2015 Jan 1; 56 (9): 2637-42.

AbstractAccording to the European Society for Medical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines on Waldenström macroglobulinemia, bendamustine (B) may be considered a suitable therapeutic option. To address the role of B in combination with rituximab (BR), we analyzed the outcome of 71 patients with relapsed/refractory disease, median age 72 years, treated with R 375 mg/m(2) day 1 and B days 1 and 2 (dosage ranging from 50 to 90 mg/m(2)). Patients had previously received a median number of 2 lines of treatment (range 1-5). Overall and major response rates were 80.2% and 74.6%. Major toxicity was grade 3/4 neutropenia occurring in 13% of courses. There was no significant association between baseline features or patients' characteristics and response achievement. Median progression-free survival was not reached after a median follow-up of 19 months (range 3-54). None of the patients developed aggressive lymphoma or secondary myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia. BR was found to be an active and well-tolerated salvage regimen leading to rapid disease control.

27 keywords...

hide…