Lenalidomide-induced arthritis: A case report and review of literature and pharmacovigilance databases.

INTRODUCTION: Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent with multiple mechanisms of action, and treatment with lenalidomide is associated with adverse events such as thrombosis and abdominal pain; nonetheless, other rarer adverse events do exist, with few knowledge from physicians and pharmacists. For such adverse events, pharmacovigilance databases are of great interest. CASE REPORT: A 71-year-old patient with no rheumatologic history, in complete remission of a mantle-cell lymphoma following rituximab, doxorubicin, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and prednisone induction, received a maintenance treatment with rituximab and lenalidomide. After each course of lenalidomide and with no other new medication, the patient presented with fever and high inflammatory markers level, and a scapular-belt arthritis. MANAGEMENT AND OUTCOME: The patient was managed with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and colchicine, with symptomatology and inflammation improvement. After discontinuation of lenalidomide, he had no arthritis relapse; it was then concluded that the patient had a lenalidomide-induced arthritis. We interrogated the national and international (VigiBase®) pharmacovigilance databases and found that arthritis in the context of lenalidomide exposure is a rare finding, with only three reported cases in France; 0.13% of adverse events reported with lenalidomide in the international database VigiBase® were arthritis. DISCUSSION: Our case then reports an uncommon finding, of which both pharmacists and physicians should be aware due to the wide and increasing use of lenalidomide.

A longitudinal study of non-medical determinants of adherence to R-CHOP therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: implication for survival.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to therapy has been established for years as a critical parameter for clinical benefit in medical oncology. This study aimed to assess, in the current practice, the influence of the socio-demographical characteristics and the place of treatment on treatment adherence and overall survival among diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients. METHODS: We analysed data from 380 patients enrolled in a French multi-centre regional cohort, with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma receiving first-line treatment with R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) or R-CHOP-like regimens. Direct examination of administrative and medical records yielded the date of death. We studied the influence of patients' socio-demographic characteristics and place of treatment on the treatment adherence and overall survival, adjusted for baseline clinical characteristics. Treatment adherence was measured by the ratio between received and planned dose Intensity (DI), called relative DI (RDI) categorized in "lesser than 85%" and "at least 85%". RESULTS: During the follow-up, among the final sample 70 patients had RDI lesser than 85% and 94 deceased. Multivariate models showed that advanced age, poor international prognosis index (IPI) and treatment with R-CHOP 14 favoured RDI lesser than 85%. The treatment in a public academic centre favoured RDI greater than or equal to 85%. Poor adherence to treatment was strongly associated with poor overall survival whereas being treated in private centres was linked to better overall survival, after adjusting for confounders. No socioeconomic gradient was found on both adherence to treatment and overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: These results reinforce adherence to treatment as a critical parameter for clinical benefit among diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients under R-CHOP. The place of treatment, but not the socioeconomic status of these patients, impacted both RDI and overall survival.