Dose-adjusted bendamustine as a replacement for carmustine in autologous stem cell transplant conditioning for patients with relapsed lymphoma: A retrospective single-center study.

BEAM conditioning regimen (carmustine [BCNU], etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) has been widely used for autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma. However, BCNU-associated toxicities have prompted research to explore other options. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of bendamustine as an alternative to BCNU. We compared 71 patients who received either bendamustine (Benda-EAM group) or BCNU (BEAM group) conditioning. Considering previous reports of increased cardiotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and mucositis, we adopted a lower bendamustine dose of 160 mg/m2/day administered for 2 days. There was no increase in nephrotoxicity and cardiotoxicity. Further, positive results were also obtained for neutrophil and platelet engraftment, appearing earlier in patients treated with Benda-EAM (10 vs. 14 days and 16 vs. 27 days, respectively). However, caution is warranted because an increased frequency of Grade 3 mucositis was observed in the Benda-EAM group (82.4% vs. 48%). This was accompanied by an increased need for parenteral nutrition. Despite the lower dose of bendamustine, the overall and progression-free survival rates were comparable between the Benda-EAM and BEAM groups. In conclusion, a lower dose of bendamustine may be an attractive alternative to BCNU as a tolerable treatment modality for patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoma.

Response to imatinib therapy in adult patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in Saudi population: a single-center study.

No study has been published yet in the Arab world regarding response and outcome of imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). This study evaluated a total of 122 patients with CML treated with imatinib between 2001 and 2012. Survival, hematologic, cytogenetic and molecular responses and adverse events were assessed. The 5-year overall survival (OS), event free survival (EFS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were: 95.4 ± 2.3%, 81.4 ± 4.6% and 90.8 ± 3.2%, respectively. Significant differences in OS (p = 0.001), EFS (p = 0.001) and PFS (p = 0.001) were noted when patients were stratified by cytogenetic response. Survival by Sokal risk groups was not significant (p = 0.293). Complete hematologic response was achieved in 94 patients (93.1%), cytogenetic response in 84 (83.2%), major molecular response in 62 (61.4%) and complete molecular response in 34 (33.7%). This article presents the first evidence on the effectiveness of imatinib in patients with CML from Saudi Arabia and highlights similarities and differences in response patterns in published studies.