Table 1.
Characteristics, outcomes, WBC counts, lymphocyte counts, and immune status in patients with follicular lymphoma treated with bendamustine
| Characteristics | Bendamustine exposure | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 1080 mg/m2 | 1080 mg/m2 | |||
| Cycle | ||||
| 4 (n = 29) | 6 (n = 8) | 6 (n = 22) | ||
| Age, median (range) years | 68 (53–88) | 81 (59–84) | 67 (51–81) | 0.039 |
| > 70 years old, n (%) | 13 (45) | 7 (88) | 10 (45) | 0.100 |
| Sex, n (%) | ||||
| Male | 12 (41) | 2 (25) | 9 (41) | 0.688 |
| Female | 17 (59) | 6 (75) | 13 (59) | |
| Number of prior chemotherapy regimens, median (range) | 2 (1–4) | 1 (0–3) | 1 (0–3) | 0.043 |
| > 1 regimen, n (%) | 16 (55) | 1 (13) | 7 (32) | 0.053 |
| Total bendamustine exposure, median (range) (mg/m2) | 720 (480–960) | 780 (720–900) | 1080 | |
| Rituximab, n (%) | 23 (79) | 6 (75) | 19 (86) | 0.724 |
| Rituximab maintenance, n (%) | 2 (7) | 2 (25) | 3 (14) | 0.273 |
| Median (range) follow-up (month) | 105 (96–114) | 96 (46–104) | 42 (19–66) | < 0.001 |
| Baseline | ||||
| WBC (/μl), median (range) | 4600 (1900–8100) | 5550 (3000–8600) | 4650 (2700–8800) | 0.738 |
| Lymphocyte (/μl), median (range) | 1050 (387–2436) | 1353 (792–3440) | 1071 (429–2964) | 0.522 |
| CD4-positive T cell (/μl), median (range) | 255 (76–730) | 436 (189–1032) | 304 (94–1188) | 0.051 |
| CD4-positive T cell < 200/μl, n (%) | 13 (44) | 1 (12) | 4 (18) | 0.067 |
| IgG (mg/dl), median (range) | 933 (167–1626) | 1126 (700–1780) | 862 (433–1436) | 0.126 |
| After 3 months of bendamustine exposure | ||||
| WBC (/μl), median (range) | 3210 (1300–7500) | 4400 (2400–5600) | 3250 (1700–7700) | 0.424 |
| Lymphocyte (/μl), median (range) | 558 (100–2829) | 1131 (295–3080) | 598 (177–2000) | 0.133 |
| CD4-positive T cell (/μl), median (range) | 73 (10–282) | 126 (29–1170) | 59 (18–360) | 0.227 |
| CD4-positive T cell < 200/μl, n (%) | 27 (93) | 5 (62) | 20 (90) | 0.081 |
| IgG (mg/dl), median (range) | 717 (128–1729) | 850 (575–1390) | 755 (263–1846) | 0.424 |
| After 1 year of bendamustine exposure | ||||
| WBC (/μl), median (range) | 3800 (2400–7300) | 4150 (2400–5900) | 3400 (1900–7100) | 0.657 |
| Lymphocyte (/μl), median (range) | 975 (96–1776) | 1022 (465–1813) | 860 (240–1846) | 0.585 |
| CD4-positive T cell (/μl), median (range) | 180 (23–532) | 238 (79–715) | 186 (28–577) | 0.425 |
| CD4-positive T cell < 200/μl, n (%) | 17 (58) | 3 (37) | 12 (54) | 0.631 |
| IgG (mg/dl), median (range) | 715 (143–1630) | 850 (500–1552) | 810 (250–1380) | 0.924 |
WBC, white blood cell; CD, cluster of differentiation; IgG, immunoglobulin G
Continuous variables were expressed as the median and range, and differences between groups were assessed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Intergroup differences in categorical variables were expressed as numbers and percentages, and differences between groups were assessed using the chi-squared test