A new treatment protocol developed by physicians in Italy is helping patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma live longer
The protocol uses a 3-drug combination called R-BAC, which includes rituximab, bendamustine, and cytarabine
The synergy between bendamustine and cytarabine make the approach highly effective
Both are among the most potent inhibitors of DNA replication and, some believe, of DNA repair
Prior in vitro work showed that when leukemic lymphocytes were incubated with bendamustine, twice as much cytarabine accumulated in the cells
which translated to highly significant gains in cytotoxicity
Coupled with the immune boost provided by rituximab, the protocol showed promising results in patients with mantle cell lymphoma and B-cell relapsed/refractory aggressive lymphoma
In heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the overall response rate was 69% and the complete response rate was 41%
Tumor shrinkage was seen in 79% of patients
And the median overall survival was 17.3 months
Overall, the results suggest that treatment with R-BAC is a good option to help manage B-cell lymphoma
M. Chiara Tisi, et al. Rituximab, bendamustine and cytarabine (R-BAC) in patients with relapsed-refractory aggressive B-cell lymphoma. (2018) American Journal of Hematology Corresponding author: Carlo Visco