Key clinical point: No difference was seen in overall survival in BeEAM vs. standard BEAM therapy for mantle cell lymphoma.

Major finding: At 3 years, progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly higher in the BeEAM than in the BEAM group (84% vs. 63%, P = .03).

Study details: A retrospective study of 60 bendamustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan (BeEAM)-treaated and 108 standard carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan (BEAM)-treated patients.

Disclosures: The authors declared that they had no conflicts of interest.

Commentary

“The role of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in MCL is the subject of ongoing trials, but existing data suggest that it likely prolongs PFS at the expense of some toxicities. The most common conditioning regimen is BEAM, but hundreds of patients with various lymphoma have received with BeEAM (bendamustine instead of BCNU) in the context of phase I or phase II trials or off protocol, and results have appeared promising. In this retrospective review, the remarkable activity of bendamustine in MCL appears to be supported. As we learned from the GALLIUM study, however, bendamustine comes with its own challenges, and the authors proposal of a randomized trial is sound. In the era of BTK inhibitors and CART cells, whether ASCT will live long enough to see another randomized trial is interesting to ponder.”

Peter Martin, MD

Weill Cornell Medicine