Lenalidomide and rituximab in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.

PURPOSE: Thalidomide and its more potent immunomodulatory derivative lenalidomide enhance rituximab-mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We therefore evaluated lenalidomide and rituximab in symptomatic Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) patients naive to either agent. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Intended therapy consisted of 48 weeks of lenalidomide (25 mg/d for 3 weeks and then 1 week off) along with rituximab (375 mg/m(2)/wk) dosed on weeks 2 to 5 and 13 to 16. Sixteen patients were enrolled, 12 of whom were previously untreated. RESULTS: Unexpectedly, we observed an acute decrease in hematocrit in 13 of 16 patients (median hematocrit decrease, 4.8%), which was attributable to lenalidomide patients and which led to cessation of further enrollment on this study. Lenalidomide-related anemia was observed even at doses as low as 5 mg/d and occurred in the absence of hemolysis or other cytopenias. The overall response and major response (<50% decrease in serum IgM) rates were 50% and 25%, respectively, on an intent-to-treat basis. With a median follow-up of 31.3 months, 4 of 8 responding patients have progressed with a median time to progression of 18.9 months. CONCLUSION: Lenalidomide produces unexpected but clinically significant acute anemia in patients with WM. In comparison with our previous study with thalidomide and rituximab in an analogous patient population, the responses achieved in WM patients with lenalidomide and rituximab appear less favorable.

The Perspective of a Breast Cancer Patient: A Survey Study Assessing Needs and Expectations.

Background Patient satisfaction is one of the key indicators of health care quality. We aim to identify patient's needs and expectations in a breast cancer clinic to provide patient-centered care and better overall satisfaction.  Methods A 17-item survey was administered to 110 patients at a breast cancer clinic. The survey was designed after a thorough literature review and approved by an oncologist and a palliative care physician.  Results Self-reported knowledge about the disease was reported adequate by 90.9% of our patients yet only 55.45% of our patients could identify the stage of their cancer. More education was desired by 32.7% of patients including various treatment options (29%), common complications (24.5%), prognosis (26.3%) and risk factors (11.8%). The majority of our patients were having some form of cancer-related emotional stress and physical symptoms. The majority of our patients (57.27%) wanted their oncologist to address social/emotional issues and 25.45% felt the need for more focus on physical symptoms in their subsequent visits. End-of-life (EoL) care discussions were considered an integral component of overall care by 29% of our patients. Components of EoL care discussions that patients stated they could benefit from included prognosis (27.27%), life expectancy (29%), the treatment effect on the quality of life (22.7%), palliative care (9%), hospice (10.9%), advance directives (11.8%), and family involvement in medical decision-making (13.6%). There was a difference noted regarding their EoL care discussion based on the stage of cancer. Patients with early-stage disease wanted their oncologists to decide on the frequency of this discussion (72.7%). Patients with advanced disease wanted EoL care discussion to be done more frequently as initiated by them or their oncologist or if there's a change in the treatment plan.  Conclusions A discrepancy between self-reported and actual knowledge in breast cancer patients emphasizes the need for patient education. Most patients rely on their oncologists for their diagnosis-related emotional and social issues. Surprisingly, more than a quarter of our patients consider EoL care discussions important even though the majority of our patients were healthy and having stage I and II disease.