In a nutshell
This trial examined the effectiveness of bendamustine in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma that did not respond to treatment or returned after a period without disease. The authors found that this treatment was effective in this population.
Some background
About 30% of Hodgkin lymphoma patients will either not respond to treatment (refractory cancer) or their cancer will return. The standard treatment for these patients is further chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant. This cures 50% of patients. Stem cell transplant does not work for some patients. There are fewer treatment options at this point. One option is other types of chemotherapy. Some patients may undergo a different type of stem cell transplant, one that uses stem cells from a donor.
Bendamustine (Treanda) is a type of chemotherapy used in certain types of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A small, older study noted a 70% response rate to the treatment. It is not clear whether this treatment is effective in previously treated Hodgkin lymphoma patients.
Methods & findings
The current study examined the safety and effectiveness of bendamustine in 36 previously treated patients. 88.9% of these patients had relapsed or not responded to stem cell transplantation. Patients were treated with bendamustine for two days during a 28-day cycle. There were a total of six cycles. Patients were followed for an average of 19 months.
The most common mild side effects were fatigue and nausea. 20% of patients experienced decreased levels of platelets (blood cells involved in clotting). This led to delays in 11% of the treatment cycles.
The response rate to treatment was 53%. 33% saw a complete response (absence of cancer cells). No response was seen in patients who had relapsed within 3 months of stem cell transplant. The average time to disease progression was 5.2 months. Five patients of the 25 who were eligible underwent a second stem cell transplant after treatment.
The bottom line
This study concluded that bendamustine was effective in heavily treated patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.
The fine print
There was a relatively small number of participants in this study. Further trials with larger populations are needed to verify these results.
Published By :
Journal of clinical oncology
Date :
Feb 01, 2013
