BFR (bendamustine, fludarabine, and rituximab) allogeneic conditioning for chronic lymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma: Reduced myelosuppression and GVHD

Issa F. Khouri, Wei Wei, Martin Korbling, Francesco Turturro, Sairah Ahmed, Amin Alousi, Paolo Anderlini, Stefan Ciurea, Elias Jabbour, Betul Oran, Uday R. Popat, Gabriela Rondon, Roland L. Bassett, Alison Gulbis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Myelosuppression, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and relapse remain major causes of morbidity after stem cell transplantation for relapsed lymphoma. In this phase 1/2 study, we tested the safety and efficacy of escalating doses of bendamustine (70, 90, 110, and 130 mg/m2 per day for 3 days), coupled with our historical fixed doses of fludarabine and rituximab (BFR), as a nonmyeloablative allogeneic conditioning regimen for patients with relapsed lymphoma (n 5 41) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (n 5 15). Ten patients entered the phase 1 study; none experienced a dose-limiting toxicity. Forty-six additional patients were then treated in the phase 2 study at the maximum dose of 130 mg/m2 per day for 3 days. The proportions of transplants from matched siblings or unrelated donors were 54% and 46%. Remarkably, 55% of patients did not experience severe neutropenia. Forty-nine patients (88%) did not require platelet transfusion. The incidence of acute grade II-IV GVHD was 11%. The 2-year rate of extensive chronic GVHD was 26%. After a median follow-up duration of 26 months (range, 6-50 months), the 2-year overall and progression-free survival rates were 90% and 75%. In conclusion, our new BFR regimen is safe and effective for relapsed CLL and lymphoma patients. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00880815. (Blood. 2014;124(14):2306-2312).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2306-2312
Number of pages7
JournalBlood
Volume124
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2 2014

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Immunology
  • Hematology
  • Cell Biology

MD Anderson CCSG core facilities

  • Biostatistics Resource Group
  • Clinical and Translational Research Center
  • Clinical Trials Office

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