Efficacy and safety of lenalinomide combined with rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract

Initial clinical trials demonstrated that lenalidomide monotherapy has a significant activity against some subtypes of lymphoma, but in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) its activity is limited. The combination of lenalidomide with rituximab may be a promising therapeutic strategy. We retrospectively analyzed clinical outcomes in 17 patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) DLBCL treated with lenalidomide, 25 mg/day for 21/28 days and rituximab, 375 mg/m² on day 7 of every lenalidomide cycle, for a maximum of 12 months. The overall response rate (ORR) was 41.2% with 35.3% complete response (CR), while median response duration was 26.5 months at a median follow-up of 24.9 months. Two patients with CR relapsed after 4 and 27 months of CR, and another four are actually in CR at + 13, + 23, + 24 and + 29 months. The estimated 24-month overall survival (OS) was 45% and progression-free survival (PFS) was 38%. Adverse events were manageable and mostly included thrombocytopenia and neutropenia. Lenalidomide–rituximab is active in R/R DLBCL with an important percentage of continuous CR.

Keywords::

• Lenalidomide
• rituximab
• diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Acknowledgement

We thank Madame Elise Coessens for critical reading of and translation assistance with the manuscript.

Potential conflict of interest

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at www.informahealthcare.com/lal.