ABSTRACT
Despite the long history of bendamustine as treatment for indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, long-term efficacy and toxicity data are minimal. We reviewed long-term data from three clinical trials to characterize the toxicity and efficacy of patients receiving bendamustine. Data were available for 149 subjects at 21 sites. The median age was 60 years at the start of bendamustine (range 39-84), and patients had received a median of 3 prior therapies. The histologies included grades 1-2 follicular lymphoma (FL; n = 73), grade 3 FL (n = 23), small lymphocytic lymphoma (n = 20), marginal zone lymphoma (n = 15), mantle cell lymphoma (n = 9), transformed lymphomas (n = 5), lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (n = 2) and not reported (n = 2). The median event-free survival was 14·1 months. Nine of 12 attempted stem cell collections were successful. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years, 23 patients developed 25 cancers, including 8 patients with myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukaemia. These data provide important information regarding the long-term toxicity of bendamustine in previously treated patients. A small but meaningful number of patients achieved durable remissions following bendamustine. These rigorously collected, patient-level, long-term follow-up data provide reassurance that bendamustine or bendamustine plus rituximab is associated with efficacy and safety for patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating/administration & dosage , Bendamustine Hydrochloride/administration & dosage , Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization/methods , Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/drug therapy , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating/adverse effects , Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use , Bendamustine Hydrochloride/adverse effects , Clinical Trials as Topic , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Humans , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/chemically induced , Male , Middle Aged , Multicenter Studies as Topic , Myelodysplastic Syndromes/chemically induced , Neoplasms, Second Primary/chemically induced , Rituximab/administration & dosage , Rituximab/adverse effects , Time Factors , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Map of Medicine is an evidence-based online clinical knowledge resource. Procured at significant cost by healthcare providers in the UK, Sweden and Denmark, it is important to establish the beneficial impact that investment has had on healthcare practise and, ultimately, on patient outcomes. The objective of this study is to review the evidence for the impact of the Map of Medicine on clinical practice. METHODS: A systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted. Nine healthcare databases, Google Scholar and Google were searched for articles containing the terms 'map of medicine'. RESULTS: The search identified 133 articles. Eleven of the articles identified met the inclusion criteria. The main finding of the study is the paucity of evidence available on the impact of the Map of Medicine and the variable quality of that which does exist. There are some encouraging early indications for the Map of Medicine as a tool within service redesign, leading to an increase in appropriate referrals to secondary care, decreased patient waiting times and considerable cost savings. CONCLUSION: Further research with study designs that can generate high quality evidence for the impact of Map of Medicine is essential in order to support policy decisions.