Bortezomib in Waldenström Macroglobulinemia Patients

Patients with relapsed or untreated WM responded to bortezomib monotherapy, but dose-limiting neurotoxicity occurred in many of them.

Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (Waldenström macroglobulinemia; WM) is an indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is characterized by production of monoclonal IgM paraprotein and by hyperviscosity, cytopenia, and adenopathy. Although WM is responsive to cytotoxic therapy and to monoclonal antibody therapy with rituximab, complete responses (CRs) are rare, and duration of response is relatively short for most patients. Preclinical data and good responsiveness of WM in a phase I trial of bortezomib (Velcade; Haematologica 2005; 90:1655) led to a phase II multicenter collaborative study.

North American researchers enrolled 27 WM patients (15 treated previously); all patients received a standard intravenous bortezomib regimen (1.3 mg/m² on days 1, 4, 8, a…

Reviewing Author

Michael E. Williams, MD