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An Italian retrospective study on the routine clinical use of low‐dose alemtuzumab in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia patients
Author(s) -
Cortelezzi Agostino,
Gritti Giuseppe,
Laurenti Luca,
Cuneo Antonio,
Ciolli Stefania,
Di Renzo Nicola,
Musto Pellegrino,
Mauro Francesca R.,
Cascavilla Nicola,
Falchi Lorenzo,
Zallio Francesco,
Callea Vincenzo,
Maura Francesco,
Martinelli Sara,
Piciocchi Alfonso,
Reda Gianluigi,
Foà Robin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2011.08965.x
Subject(s) - alemtuzumab , medicine , refractory (planetary science) , fludarabine , retrospective cohort study , cumulative dose , univariate analysis , gastroenterology , surgery , chemotherapy , multivariate analysis , transplantation , cyclophosphamide , physics , astrobiology
Summary Low‐dose alemtuzumab has shown a favourable toxicity profile coupled with good results in terms of efficacy in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). We conducted a multicentre retrospective study on the routine clinical use of low‐dose alemtuzumab in this patient setting. One hundred and eight relapsed/refractory CLL patients from 11 Italian centres were included in the analysis. All patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤2 and the majority (84%) had adenopathies <5cm. Low‐dose alemtuzumab was defined as a total weekly dose ≤45 mg and a cumulative dose ≤600 mg given for up to 18 weeks. The overall response rate was 56% (22% complete remissions). After a median follow‐up of 42·2 months, the median overall survival and progression‐free survival were 39·0 and 19·4 months, respectively. In univariate analysis, response was inversely associated with lymph node ( P = 0·01) and spleen ( P = 0·02) size, fludarabine‐refractoriness ( P = 0·01) and del(11q) ( P = 0·009). Advanced age and del(17p) were not associated with a worse outcome. Cumulative dose of alemtuzumab was not associated to response. Toxicities were usually mild and manageable; severe infections occurred in seven patients (7%) during therapy. This retrospective analysis confirms that low‐dose alemtuzumab is a valid and currently used therapeutic option for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CLL.