In a nutshell
This study examined the use of the combination of bendamustine (Treanda) and rituximab (Rituxan) as a firstline treatment in patients with follicular or mantle cell lymphoma. This study concluded that this treatment combination was more effective than the standard treatment of rituximab plus CHOP chemotherapy.
Some background
The standard treatment option for follicular lymphoma (FL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is rituximab combined with chemotherapy. The most common chemotherapy combination used is CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone). However, few trials have examined whether one combination is more effective than others.
Bendamustine is another chemotherapy agent that has been used to successfully treat other types of lymphatic cancer. It is not clear whether bendamustine combined with rituximab (R) would be as effective as R-CHOP in patients with FL or MCL.
Methods & findings
This study compared R-bendamustine and R-CHOP in patients with new diagnosed FL or MCL. 261 patients were treated with R-bendamustine (group 1) and 253 patients were treated with R-CHOP (group 2). Patients were followed for an average of 45 months.
Average time to disease progression was significantly longer in group 1 (69.5 months) compared to group 2 (31.2 months). The overall response rate did not differ between the groups. The rate of complete response (no sign of active disease) was significantly higher in group 1 (40%) compared to group 2 (30%).
Group 1 experienced fewer side effects than group 2. None of the patients in group 1 experienced hair loss. This affected 100% of group 2. Group 1 had lower rates of blood toxicity (30%) compared to group 2 (68%) and infections (37% in group 1, 50% in group 2). Skin reactions were more likely in group 1 (16%) than group 2 (9%).
The bottom line
This study concluded that R-bendamustine was an effective first-line treatment option for patients with FL or MCL.
Published By :
Lancet (London, England)
Date :
Apr 06, 2013
