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Safety and Efficacy of Rituximab Plus Bendamustine in Relapsed or Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients

2014; Elsevier BV; Volume: 124; Issue: 21 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1182/blood.v124.21.3074.3074

1528-0020

Annalisa Arcari, Annalisa Chiappella, Vanessa Valenti, Luca Zanlari, Monica Tani, Roberto Marasca, Maria Giuseppina Cabras, Michele Spina, Alberto Santagostino, Fiorella Ilariucci, Giuseppe Carli, Pellegrino Musto, Paolo Savini, Dario Marino, Francesco Ghio, Massimo Gentile, Maria Christina Cox, Roberta Della Seta, Daniele Vallisa,

CAR-T cell therapy research

Abstract Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) relapsed or refractory after chemoimmunotherapy have dismal prognosis; the standard salvage treatment is Rituximab plus high dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (R-HDC). However, no standardized treatment is available for patients not eligible for R-HDC because of age and/or comorbidity. The combination Rituximab plus Bendamustine (R-B) has shown to be non-inferior and with a favorable toxicity profile compared to R-CHOP in indolent B-cell lymphoma. The use of R-B in DLBCL is a matter of debate. Purpose: We designed an Italian multicenter retrospective study aimed to evaluate safety and efficacy of R-B as salvage treatment in patients with DLBCL relapsed or refractory after at least one complete course of Rituximab-chemotherapy, who were not eligible for R-HDC because of age and/or comorbidity or in patients with post-HDC recurrence. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reported 43 unselected consecutive patients with relapsed or refractory DLCBL treated with R-B in 15 Italian haematological centers between October 2008 and January 2014. Schedule of R-B were: 6 courses of Bendamustine at 90 mg/mq or 70 mg/mq on days 1 and 2 of each 28-day cycle and Rituximab 375 mg/mq on day 1 of each cycle. They were analyzed for baseline characteristics (age, IPI, ECOG, comorbidity), outcome (ORR, PFS, OS) and toxicity (CTCAE). Results: The median age was 76 years (range 56-94). Eighty-three % of patients had advanced-stage disease (III-IV stage) and 67% had IPI score of ≥3. An extranodal involvement was present in 65% of cases (bone marrow, lung, stomach, skin, pleura, pericardium). More than half the patients (51%) presented with poor functional status with ECOG score of ≥2. Comorbidity assessment by CIRS-G revelead 30% of patients with ≥1 severely or very severely (level 3 or 4) affected organs and 27% of patients with moderate or severe (level ≥2) cardiopathy. The mean number of prior therapies was 1,7 (range 1-3). All patients were previously treated with Rituximab-chemotherapy and three patients had already received R-HDC. Twelve patients had a refractory disease and 31 experienced relapse after last treatment. Patients received a median of 5 cycles of planned 6 courses of R-B (range 2-6); 24 patients underwent Bendamustine at 90 mg/mq, 19 at 70 mg/mq. All patients received Rituximab 375 mg/mq. In 38% of patients treatment was stopped because of progression; in 4 patients (9%) progression occurred within the first 2 treatment cycles. The overall response rate was 47%, including 28% complete remission and 19% partial remission. One patient in partial remission after R-B achieved a complete remission after local radiotherapy. The median OS was 16 months (95% CI 10-20). The median PFS was 8 months (95% CI 6-11). The median follow up was 10 months (range 2-60). Nine patients are still alive and in complete remission at last follow up; 7 of these patients had a chemosensitive relapse before R-B (in 5 cases a first relapse) and only 2 had a refractory disease with progression after a previous lenalidomide treatment. Toxicity was moderate, mainly grade 1 and 2. Grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia in 14 patients (32%), thrombocytopenia in 5 patients (11%), anemia in one patient, infections in 3 patients (6%), skin rash in one patient, nausea in one patient, diarrhea in one patient. One patient died of septic shock after the third R-B cycle. One patient died of miocardial infarction related to underlying cardiac comorbidity. Conclusions: Bendamustine in combination with Rituximab showed promising efficacy results with a low toxicity profile in a poor prognosis population (advanced stage disease and extranodal involvement, high median age, poor functional status, comorbidities), not eligible for R-HDC. The optimal dosage and schedule of Bendamustine and/or combination with novel drugs should be further investigated, in order to improve the duration of response and reduce the rate of early progression. Disclosures Off Label Use: Bendamustine in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Marasca:Mundipharma: Honoraria.