What are the long term side effects of bendamustine?

This medicine may increase your risk of developing a serious and rare brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Check with your doctor if you have weakness on one side of the body, clumsiness, blurred vision, changes in thinking, memory problems, confusion, or personality changes.

How long does it take for bendamustine to work?

It takes about 15 to 30 minutes. The new platelets start to work right away.

Will I lose my hair on bendamustine?

In a safety evaluation from a clinical study for CLL, hair loss occurred in 1 of the 153 patients treated with bendamustine hydrochloride compared to 0 (zero) of the 143 patients treated with chlorambucil. In an NHL study, hair loss occurred in 3 of the 100 patients treated with bendamustine hydrochloride.

Does bendamustine lower your immune system?

Bendamustine can severely impair T-cell immunity against cytomegalovirus.

How strong is bendamustine?

Bendeka contains the active drug bendamustine. It’s a chemotherapy drug that belongs to a class of drugs called alkylating agents. (A class of drugs is a group of medications that work in same way.) Bendeka comes as a solution that’s available in one strength: 100 mg/4 mL.

Does bendamustine cause weight gain?

Your doctor may give you a medicine to help prevent this. Call your doctor right away if you have a decrease or change in urine amount, joint pain, stiffness, or swelling, lower back, side, or stomach pain, a rapid weight gain, swelling of the feet or lower legs, or unusual tiredness or weakness.

How many rounds of chemo do you need for lymphoma?

Treatment for many patients is chemotherapy (usually 2 to 4 cycles of the ABVD regimen), followed by radiation to the initial site of the disease (involved site radiation therapy, or ISRT). Another option is chemotherapy alone (usually for 3 to 6 cycles) in selected patients.

Is bendamustine well tolerated?

After a follow-up period of 15 months, the four patients with CR were still in remission. One patient with PR had relapsed, the other had ongoing response. Conclusions: Bendamustine is a very active and well-tolerated drug in patients with pre-treated and refractory CLL.

What is the cost of bendamustine?

The cost for bendamustine intravenous solution (25 mg/mL) is around $2,191 for a supply of 4 milliliters, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Prices are for cash paying customers only and are not valid with insurance plans.

What type of lymphoma is not curable?

Lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma or Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

It’s found mainly in the bone marrow, lymph nodes, and spleen. This type of lymphoma can’t be cured.

How quickly does lymphoma spread?

After five to 10 years, low-grade disorders begin to progress rapidly to become aggressive or high-grade and produce more severe symptoms. This type progresses fairly rapidly without treatment.

How effective is bendamustine and rituximab?

The combination of bendamustine and rituximab (BR) resulted in superior overall response rates (ORR) and complete response (CR) rates, as well as progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), compared with the combination of fludarabine plus rituximab (FR) in patients with relapsed, indolent non-Hodgkin …

What is the success rate of rituximab?

Rituximab with bendamustine (Treanda, Cephalon) was studied in a phase 2 trial in patients with relapsed disease. This combination was found to be very effective, with an ORR of 92%.

How often is bendamustine given?

You have bendamustine every 4 weeks on day 1 and day 2 of your cycle. Each 4 week period is a cycle of treatment. You then have a break from day 3 to day 28. This completes one cycle of treatment.

What is the most serious type of lymphoma?

Burkitt lymphoma is considered the most aggressive form of lymphoma and is one of the fastest growing of all cancers. But it is very rare, accounting for about 2 percent of all lymphoma diagnoses.

Can you live 20 years with lymphoma?

Most people with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma will live 20 years after diagnosis. Faster-growing cancers (aggressive lymphomas) have a worse prognosis. They fall into the overall five-year survival rate of 60%.

How long can you stay on rituximab?

Rituxan can provide up to 6 months of symptom improvement from 1 course of treatment (2 infusions given 2 weeks apart). Be sure to talk with your doctor to find out if starting and continuing treatment with Rituxan is right for you.

How many times can rituximab be given?

4 INFUSIONS A YEAR
A “course” is two 1-gram IV infusions separated by 2 weeks. Rituxan is typically given every 6 months, or based on your doctor’s evaluation of your symptoms.

What are the 4 stages of lymphoma?

The staging system used for Hodgkin lymphoma is the Lugano classification, which is based on the older Ann Arbor system. It has 4 stages, labeled I, II, III, and IV. For limited stage (I or II) HL that affects an organ outside of the lymph system, the letter E is added to the stage (for example, stage IE or IIE).

Will I lose my hair with rituximab?

You could lose all your hair. This includes your eyelashes, eyebrows, underarm, leg and sometimes pubic hair. Your hair will usually grow back once treatment has finished but it is likely to be softer. It may grow back a different colour or be curlier than before.

Where does lymphoma spread to first?

NHL usually starts in an area of lymph nodes. When it spreads to an organ or tissue outside of the lymph nodes, it is called extranodal spread.

Do you gain weight on rituximab?

In one study, people with low-grade, B-cell NHL had chemotherapy with the drugs cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone. Some people took Rituxan afterward and some people didn’t take any medication. Of the people who took Rituxan after chemotherapy, 11% gained weight.

What is the last stage of lymphoma?

Stage 4. Stage 4 is the most advanced stage of lymphoma. Lymphoma that has started in the lymph nodes and spread to at least one body organ outside the lymphatic system (for example, the lungs, liver, bone marrow or solid bones) is advanced lymphoma.

How do you feel after rituximab?

After a Rituxan (rituximab) infusion you may experience certain side effects or adverse reactions that make you feel unwell. Rituxan affects different people in different ways, but the more common side effects include: Fever (high temperature), muscle aches, headaches and chills, which are signs of infection.

What causes death from lymphoma?

The most frequent extranodal sites of involvement were the respiratory tract, bone marrow, liver, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract in that order. The most common cause of death was infection (33% of cases).