Richard I. Fisher, MD, the Samuel E. Durand Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York, cautioned that it is too early to embrace the bendamustine/rituximab regimen.

Caution Advised

“Bendamustine is a very active agent with moderate toxicity that will have a major role in the treatment of indolent lymphomas. The StiL trial remains unpublished, however, and we are not able to evaluate all the details of how the study was conducted, including staging evaluation, eligibility, statistical plan, follow-up evaluations, and so forth. Therefore, until it is available through peer review it should probably not be considered a standard of care,” he maintained.

“Recall that we have made tremendous progress in the overall survival of patients with indolent lymphoma since the advent of rituximab,” he continued. “Before we abandon established successful front-line treatment regimens we should wait to see all the details of the study as well as perhaps a confirmatory trial. There is still no evidence of any survival difference between R-CHOP and the bendamustine/rituximab regimen.” ■

Disclosure: Dr. Fisher reported no potential conflicts of interest.