Published in:
01-03-2017 | Original Article
BeEAM conditioning with bendamustine-replacing BCNU before autologous transplantation is safe and effective in lymphoma patients
Authors:
Stefanie Gilli, Urban Novak, Behrouz Mansouri Taleghani, Gabriela M. Baerlocher, Kurt Leibundgut, Yara Banz, Thilo Zander, Daniel Betticher, Thomas Egger, Daniel Rauch, Thomas Pabst
Published in:
Annals of Hematology
|
Issue 3/2017
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Abstract
BEAM with BCNU is commonly used for conditioning treatment followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). However, pulmonary toxicity and availability issues associated with BCNU prompted us to evaluate bendamustine-replacing BCNU (BeEAM). We analyzed 39 lymphoma patients receiving BeEAM conditioning with 200 mg/m2 bendamustine at days −7 and −6. The median duration until neutrophil recovery was 11 days, and 15 days for platelet recovery (>20 g/L). The most common grade 3/4 non-hematologic toxicities comprised mucosal side effects (27 pts.). Pulmonary toxicity was observed in one patient (2.5%), and one patient died of septic complications. The CR rate increased from 33% to 74% 100 days after ASCT. After a median follow-up of 18.5 months, progression and death each occurred in 11 patients (28%). Median progression-free and overall survival at 2 years were 69% and 72%. Our data suggest that BeEAM conditioning using bendamustine is safe and results in promising survival rates.