Dr. Karmali on Treating Older Patients With MCL in the Rituximab Era

Reem Karmali, MD, MS, an assistant professor of medicine (hematology and oncology) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses an analysis examining clinical outcomes and predictors of survival in older patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in the era of rituximab (Rituxan).

Approximately 50% of patients enrolled on the study had a high-risk Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index with respect to treatment patterns, says Karmali. Among the patients analyzed, 36% received bendamustine plus rituximab, a regimen that is noted as being reasonably well tolerated in older patient populations. Notably, only 2% of patients received lenalidomide (Revlimid) and none of the patients were given a BTK inhibitor up front. 

Despite their advanced age, 24% of patients underwent an autologous stem cell transplantation during their first remission, while 44% of patients received maintenance rituximab. Only 19% of these patients had been enrolled in clinical trials, concludes Karmali.