Dr. Patel on Induction in Patients With Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Krish Patel, MD, medical oncologist, Swedish Cancer Institute, discusses induction therapy in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

Data compiled from a combination of 2 phase II clinical trials that were conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Washington University in St. Louis, as well as some patients who were treated off clinical trial, examined the use of bendamustine and rituximab (Rituxan; BR) as induction therapy in MCL. Investigators examined overall responses, progression-free survival, and overall survival using the induction regimen for 3 treatment cycles. If patients had an appropriate clinical response, they went on to receive 3 cycles of rituximab and cytarabine before undergoing an autologous stem cell transplant.

This study was presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting and shows compelling evidence for the use of BR as induction therapy in patients with MCL, says Patel. However, the regimen needs to be studied further in additional randomized prospective studies to confirm the benefit observed in this analysis.