Cladribine in the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

• Published in: Blood 2008-11, Vol.112 (11), p.4958-4958
• Main Authors: Noguchi, Emi, Okamoto, Rumiko, Shimoyama, Tatsu, Sasaki, Eisaku, Omuro, Yasushi, Maeda, Yoshiharu, Sakamaki, Hisashi, Sasaki, Tsuneo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0006-4971; 1528-0020
• DOI: 10.1182/blood.V112.11.4958.4958

BACKGROUND: The treatment of relapsed or refractory Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) depends on the number of drugs of choice, and additional treatments can achieve remission for many patients. Cladribine (2-chlorodeoxyadenosine, 2-CdA) is a purine nucleoside analogue, and generally approved for indolent NHL relapsed after or refractory to previous chemotherapy. We conducted this analysis to determine efficacy and toxicity of 2-CdA in the treatment of relapsed or refractory NHL. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 29 relapsed or refractory NHL patients treated with cladribine in a single institution from 2002 to 2007 were entered in a retrospective analysis. RESULTS: The median age was 64 years. Seventeen patients (59%) were male, twenty (69%) with indolent lymphoma consisting mainly of follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, and twenty-eight (97%) previously treated with 1 to 10 regimens (mean 2.7). Cladribine was administrated 24% as a monotherapy and 22% with other chemotherapeutic agents. The dose and duration of administration were variable among the patients, however, most common regimen was 0.9mg/kg/day for seven consecutive days, for 1 to 6 cycles, depending on response. Response rate was 72% (CR and PR were 31%, 41%, respectively). Median overall survival was of 2.9 years. Patients showed improved survival rate in performance status 0 or 1 (Willcoxon: P