Low-dose bortezomib and dexamethasone as primary therapy in elderly patients with Waldenstrӧm macroglobulinemia.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

This retrospective study was designed to determine the efficacy and safety of low-dose bortezomib and dexamethasone (lBD) in elderly Chinese patients with Waldenstrӧm macroglobulinemia (WM).

METHODS:

Ten patients with WM aged over 60 years received first-line treatment with lBD.

RESULTS:

The median age was 70 years (range, 61-77 years). The overall response rate was 80%, including 1 patient who achieved a complete response, 1 patient with very good partial response, and 6 patients with a partial response. Median time to response was 1.8 months after treatment with lBD. Six (60%) patients achieved a partial response, including 2 (20%) patients who had a more than 75% reduction in serum immunoglobulin M levels. A rapid reduction in paraprotein was observed in three patients who received plasmapheresis. After a median follow-up period of 36 months, all patients were still alive and six had no disease progression. The estimated median time to progression was 39 months (range, 15-60 months). The most common adverse events were anemia, thrombocytopenia, neuropathy, and neutropenia. Peripheral neuropathy was the most common non-hematological toxicity in six (60%) patients, but did not result in the discontinuation of bortezomib.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our findings show that lBD is an effective and tolerable treatment regimen for elderly patients with WM.

• Authors: Ya-Ping Zhang, Xi Yang, Zeng-Hua Lin, Xin-Feng Wang, Xin Cao, Xue-Fen You, Hong-Ming Huang, Wen-Yu Shi, Hong Liu
• Journal: European journal of haematology (Eur J Haematol) Vol. 99 Issue 6 Pg. 489-494 (Dec 2017) ISSN: 1600-0609 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 28801984 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Chemical References

• Biomarkers
• Bortezomib
• Dexamethasone

Topics

• Age Factors
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols (adverse effects, therapeutic use)
• Biomarkers
• Bortezomib (administration & dosage)
• Dexamethasone (administration & dosage)
• Female
• Humans
• Kaplan-Meier Estimate
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Retrospective Studies
• Treatment Outcome
• Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia (diagnosis, drug therapy, mortality)