Long-term results of Waldenström macroglobulinaemia treatment by bendamustine and rituximab: A study on behalf of the French Innovative Leukemia Organization (FILO)

• Published in: British journal of haematology Vol. 204; no. 6; pp. 2233 - 2236
• Main Authors: Laribi, Kamel, Poulain, Stéphanie, Willems, Lise, Merabet, Fatiha, Herbaux, Charles, Roos-Weil, Damien, Laribi de Materre, Inès, Roussel, Xavier, Nudel, Morgane, Tricot, Sabine, Dupuis, Jehan, Le Calloch, Ronan, Bareau, Benoit, Leblond, Véronique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-06-2024
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Bendamustine Hydrochloride - administration & dosage; Bendamustine Hydrochloride - therapeutic use; Female; Follow-Up Studies; France; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Rituximab; Rituximab - administration & dosage; Rituximab - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia - drug therapy; Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia - mortality; France; Waldenström macroglobulinaemia; chemotherapy; antibody therapy
• ISSN: 0007-1048; 1365-2141; 1365-2141
• DOI: 10.1111/bjh.19409

The bendamustine-rituximab (BR) schedule is an efficient first-line therapy in Waldenström macroglobulinaemia (WM). A previous analysis of 69 patients who received this treatment confirmed a high response rate and good progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS). With a median follow-up of 76.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 69.9-80.6), 5-year outcome is still excellent at 66.63% (95% CI 56.09-79.17) for PFS and 80.01% (95% CI 70.82-90.41) for OS. The rate of secondary cancers is 17.66% (IQR 7.99-27.64) at 66 months. Relapsed patients who received ibrutinib as second-line clearly benefited from this schedule. This confirms current recommendations suggesting BR long-term efficacy as first-line option in WM.