학술논문

Fludarabine, Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab: an effective chemoimmunotherapy combination with high remission rates for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
Document Type
Author abstract
Clinical report
Source
Irish Journal of Medical Sciences. Dec, 2009, Vol. 178 Issue 4, p441, 6 p.
Subject
Ireland
Language
English
ISSN
0021-1265
Abstract
Background Combined Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide is now standard first-line therapy in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and the addition of Rituximab improves outcome. Methods We adopted a modified Fludarabine, Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab (FCR) protocol in treating 39 patients (median age 57 years) with progressive or advanced CLL. Depending on CR, treatment was given for four or six cycles. Result Twenty-six patients were treatment naive and 13 were pre-treated. Twelve patients had progressive Binet stage A, 16 stage B and 11 stage C disease. The overall response rate (ORR) was 100%, with 75% achieving CR. Neutropenia was the major toxicity in 71/187 (38%) of the cycles. There were five deaths, two from infection and three from progressive disease. Twenty-six of 31 patients have maintained their post-treatment disease status for a median of 17 months (2--41). Conclusion We conclude that FCR is a feasible, well-tolerated and effective treatment for patients with CLL.