Key clinical point: In the real-world setting, dose reductions and therapy delays are more common among elderly vs younger patients receiving first-line bendamustine-rituximab (BR) for indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (iNHL) or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL); however, the efficacy and safety of BR is unaffected across age groups.
Major finding: At a median follow-up of 42 months, the elderly vs younger patient group had a significantly lower proportion of patients receiving full doses of bendamustine (54% vs 79.5%; P < .001) and higher treatment delay rate (54% vs 43.2%; P < .001) but similar disease-free survival (P = .069). The number of all-grade adverse events per patient was similar between the groups across each BR cycle.
Study details: This retrospective observational cohort study included 201 patients (elderly [≥70 years] n = 113 or younger [18-70 years] n = 88) with iNHL or MCL who received BR therapy.
Disclosures: This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Kotchetkov R et al. Bendamustine and rituximab is well-tolerated and efficient in the treatment of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma in elderly: A single center observational study. Int J Cancer. 2022 (Dec 22). Doi: 10.1002/ijc.34412