Bendamustine and Rituximab: Complete Response in a 62-Year-Old Female with an Aggressive Lymphoma and an Ejection Fraction of 20.

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Bendamustine and Rituximab: Complete Response in a 62-Year-Old Female with an Aggressive Lymphoma and an Ejection Fraction of 20.

Chemotherapy. 2017;62(2):140-146

Authors: Alrifai T, Grant Szymanski K, Venugopal P, Mahon B, Okwuosa T, Karmali R

Abstract
The treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the presence of cardiac comorbidities can be challenging considering that the standard treatment regimen used for this aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) consists of a combination of rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, Oncovin (vincristine), and prednisone (R-CHOP). The use of the anthracycline doxorubicin has been associated with arrhythmias and cardiomyopathy, making patients with cardiac dysfunction poor candidates for R-CHOP. As such, it is imperative to find alternative regimens that omit cardiac toxicity without compromising efficacy for this patient population. We report a case of composite NHL in a patient who received frontline bendamustine with rituximab with encouraging results. Our patient had a left ventricular ejection fraction of 20%, making her a poor candidate for anthracycline-based therapy. We opted to administer bendamustine with rituximab for a total of 6 cycles. She remains disease free 18 months after the completion of therapy.

PMID: 27960150 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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