Abstract:
Efficacy of Fludarabine–based Combination Chemotherapy in 20 Patients UndergoingInitial Treatment of Marginal Zone B-cell LymphomaMeifeng TU, Wen ZHENG, Yuntao ZHANG, Xiaopei WANG, Yuqin SONG, Yan XIE, Ningjing LIN, Lingyan PING, Zhitao YING,Weiping LIU, Lijuan DENG, Chen ZHANG, Jun ZHUCorrespondence to: Jun ZHU, E-mail: zj@bjcancer.orgDepartment of Lymphoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking UniversitySchool of Clinical Oncology, Beijing Cancer Hospital, Beijing Institute for Cancer Research, Beijing 100142, ChinaAbstract Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fludarabine-based combination chemotherapy in 20 patients undergo-ing initial treatment for marginal zone B-cell lymphoma ( MZL ). Methods: Data of 20 patients with initial treatment of MZL in thestudy hospital between September 2005 and February 2010, including 16 with extranodal MZL, 3 with nodal MZL and 1 with splenicMZL, were reviewed in this study. A fludarabine-based regimen was administered in all patients. Specifically, 14 patients were treatedwith a FC regimen (Fludarabine and cyclophosphamide) while 6 were treated with R-FC ( Rituximab + FC ). On average the patients re-ceived 4.3 ( 1~6 ) therapeutic cycles. Results: Eighteen of the 20 patients ( 90 % ) achieved complete remission (CR) and the other 2 pa-tients ( 10 % ) achieved partial remission ( PR ). The total effective rate ( CR + PR ) was 100 % ( 20/20 ). In all 20 patients, the 1- and2-year overall survival rates were 88 %, the progression-free survival ( PFS ) rate was 88 % and the disease-free survival rate was 85 %.Myelosuppression and mild GI toxicity were the major side effects. The rates of leucopenia, nausea and vomiting and mild liver injurywere 51 % ( Ⅲ+Ⅳ 9.3 % ), 20%, and 8%, respectively. Six patients ( 30 % ) had thrombocytopenia; the incidence of thrombocytopeniawas 66.7% (4/6) in patients over 60 years old and 14.3% (2/14) in patients younger than 60 years old ( P = 0.037 ). Pulmonary fungal in-fection occurred in 1 patient ( 5 % ). Conclusion: The fludarabine-based chemotherapy regimen has shown a satisfactory therapeutic ef-fect on patients undergoing initial treatment for MZL, and the corresponding side effects can be well tolerated.Keywords Lymphoma; Marginal zone B-cell; Fludarabine; Combination chemotherapy