Rituxan maintenance for Waldenstrom’s – pro
Maintenance is still being investigated in Waldesntrom’s. Rituximab maintenance improves duration of response in patients with other low-grade lymphomas, especially follicular lymphoma. A retrospective comparison indicated that maintenance rituximab may improve quality of responses and prolong PFS and time to next therapy in both previously untreated and pretreated WM patients,42 although at the expense of increased infections (mainly grade 2).An ongoing prospective, randomized study examines the impact of maintenance rituximab following Bendamuistine and Rrituximab. Due to the lack of prospective data, the use of maintenance rituximab is not routinely recommended (Meletios et al, 2014).
Meletios A. Dimopoulos et al,Treatment recommendations for patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM) and related disorders: IWWM-7 consensus. Blood. 2014 Aug 28; 124(9): 14041411
Treon SP, Hanzis C, Manning RJ, et al. Maintenance Rituximab is associated with improved clinical outcome in rituximab naïve patients with Waldenstrom Macroglobulinaemia who respond to a rituximab-containing regimen. Br J Haematol 2011; 154:357.
Morie A. Gertz, Waldenström macroglobulinemia: 2015 update on diagnosis, risk stratification, and management. Am J Heamt Volume 90, Issue 4 April 2015 Pages 346–354