Effectiveness of bendamustine in relapsed or refractory lymphoma cases: a Turkish Oncology Group study

• Published in: Archives of medical science 2021, Vol.17 (4), p.920-927
• Main Authors: Karadurmus, Nuri, Paydas, Semra, Esin, Ece, Surmeli, Zeki Gokhan, Yildiz, Birol, Erturk, Ismail, Nayir, Erdinc, Dogan, Mutlu, Sumbul, Ahmet Taner, Barista, Ibrahim, Gurkan, Emel, Ocal, Ramazan, Ferhanoglu, Burhan, Ozgur, Gokhan, Karakas, Yusuf, Lacin, Sahin, Ozaydin, Sukru, Petekkaya, Halil Ibrahim, Uskent, Necdet
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical Research
• ISSN: 1734-1922; 1896-9151
• DOI: 10.5114/aoms.2019.83000

INTRODUCTIONWe aimed to investigate the efficacy and side effects of bendamustine in relapsed/refractory lymphoma patients in Turkey. MATERIAL AND METHODSIn this retrospective study, we included relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients who underwent multiple lines of chemotherapy. The primary endpoint was to determine the objective response and toxicity. RESULTSNinety-nine patients with a median age of 59.8 years were included in the study. Eighty-one patients had NHL (follicular lymphoma: 10, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: 27, mantle-cell lymphoma: 18, marginal zone lymphoma: 9, small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia: 17) and 18 patients had HL. The patients had previously received a median of three lines of chemotherapy (range: 2-8) except autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT); 19 patients (HL: 11, NHL: 8) had undergone ASCT. The objective response rate (ORR) was 74.3%, the complete response rate was 57% (= 53), and the partial response rate was 16.6% ( = 19). The overall survival (OS) rate at 1 year was 74.6%. The progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 1 year was 62.5%. The most common side effects were lymphopenia, anemia and neutropenia. Side effects which were observed as grade 3 and higher levels were lymphopenia (14.1%), neutropenia (10.1%) and fatigue (7.1%). CONCLUSIONSObjective response rate of bendamustine was found to be 74.3% in relapsed/refractory HL and NHL patients. It appears to be an effective option as a salvage treatment for patients who have previously received multiple lines of therapy.