Bendamustine: an Old Drug in the New Era for Patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
The aim of this review is to present data on bendamustine, a non-cross resistant alkylating agent, alone or in combination for treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Bendamustine is currently approved for rituximab-resistant indolent NHL and CLL in patients n...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Sestre Milosrdnice University hospital, Institute of Clinical Medical Research
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Acta Clinica Croatica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/315443 |
| Summary: | The aim of this review is to present data on bendamustine, a non-cross resistant alkylating agent, alone or in combination for treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Bendamustine is currently approved for rituximab-resistant indolent NHL and CLL in patients not fit for conventional chemotherapy. Recent studies have shown superiority of bendamustine combination with rituximab (B-R) in first line treatment of indolent NHLs and mantle cell lymphoma, suggesting a shift of the standard of care in this setting. B-R regimen has also shown efficacy in relapsed setting suggesting the possible treatment option for patients failing conventional chemotherapy. In rituximab-resistant NHL, the recent GADOLIN study exploring the addition of obinutuzumab to bendamustine has yielded impressive result changing the standard of care in this hard-to-treat population. Concerning CLL, despite inferiority to the standard of care in young fit patients, as defined in CLL10 study, B-R has yielded a more beneficial toxicity profile and its use in first line treatment should be decided individually. In relapsed setting, the addition of ibrutinib to B-R has shown superior results compared to B-R alone, possibly changing the paradigm of treatment of relapsed CLL. In conclusion, bendamustine as a single agent or in combinations has shown activity with acceptable toxic profile in the treatment of patients with indolent NHLs or CLL without del(17p) mutation. |
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| ISSN: | 0353-9466 1333-9451 |