Phase II study of bendamustine in relapsed and refractory Hodgkin lymphoma
Alison J Moskowitz, Paul A Hamlin Jr, Miguel-Angel Perales, John Gerecitano, Steven M Horwitz, Matthew J Matasar, Ariela Noy, Maria Lia Palomba, Carol S Portlock, David J Straus, Tricia Graustein, Andrew D Zelenetz, Craig H Moskowitz, Alison J Moskowitz, Paul A Hamlin Jr, Miguel-Angel Perales, John Gerecitano, Steven M Horwitz, Matthew J Matasar, Ariela Noy, Maria Lia Palomba, Carol S Portlock, David J Straus, Tricia Graustein, Andrew D Zelenetz, Craig H Moskowitz
Abstract
Purpose: Limited data exist regarding the activity of bendamustine in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). This phase II study evaluated the efficacy of bendamustine in relapsed and refractory HL.
Patients and methods: Patients with relapsed and refractory HL who were ineligible for autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT), or for whom this treatment failed, received bendamustine 120 mg/m(2) as a 30-minute infusion on days 1 and 2 every 28 days with growth factor support. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR). A secondary end point was referral rate to allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (alloSCT) for patients deemed eligible for alloSCT at the time of enrollment.
Results: Of the 36 patients enrolled, 34 were evaluable for response. Patients had received a median of four prior treatments, and 75% had relapsed after ASCT. The ORR by intent-to-treat analysis was 53%, including 12 complete responses (33%) and seven partial responses (19%). The response rate among evaluable patients was 56%. Responses were seen in patients with prior refractory disease, prior ASCT, and prior alloSCT; however, no responses were seen in patients who relapsed within 3 months of ASCT. The median response duration was 5 months. Five patients (20% of those eligible) proceeded to alloSCT after treatment with bendamustine. Grade ≥ 3 adverse events were infrequent and most commonly included thrombocytopenia (20%), anemia (14%), and infection (14%).
Conclusion: This study confirms the efficacy of bendamustine in heavily pretreated patients with HL. These results support current and future studies evaluating bendamustine combinations in relapsed and refractory HL.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00705250.
Conflict of interest statement
Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.
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Source: PubMed