L-PROBe: A Novel Non-anthracycline Combination Chemotherapy Regimen for Aggressive B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in Elderly Patients

The management of aggressive B cell lymphomas in elderly patients is associated with poor tolerability of commonly used chemotherapeutic agents. The safety and tolerability of a novel combination chemotherapy regimen utilizing rituximab, lenalidomide, bendamustine, vincristine and prednisolone was assessed in a series of elderly patients with new onset or relapsed/refractory aggressive B cell lymphoma and inability to receive conventional chemotherapy due to poor performance status and/or significant comorbidities. Ten patients (7 male, 3 female) with a median age of 72 years (range 58–79 years) received therapy with lenalidomide (10 mg/day on days 1–14), rituximab (375 mg/m² on day 1), bendamustine (90 mg/m² on days 1 and 2), vincristine (1.4 mg/m² on day 1) and prednisolone (60 mg/m²/day on days 1–5) with cycles repeated every 28 days. Grade 3/4 hematological toxicities included neutropenia (30 %), anemia (30 %) and thrombocytopenia (10 %). An overall response rate of 40 % was observed with a median survival of 120 days (range 14–286 days). Three of the patients who responded achieved complete remission at the end of six cycles of therapy. This combination chemotherapy appears to be well tolerated and effective in elderly patients with poor performance status. Larger controlled studies are indicated to clearly demonstrate applicability of this novel regimen.