Thalidomide and rituximab in Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia

Abstract

Thalidomide enhances rituximab-mediated, antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We therefore conducted a phase 2 study using thalidomide and rituximab in symptomatic Walden-strom macroglobulinemia (WM) patients naive to either agent. Intended therapy consisted of daily thalidomide (200 mg for 2 weeks, then 400 mg for 50 weeks) and rituximab (375 mg/m2 per week) dosed on weeks 2 to 5 and 13 to 16. Twenty-five patients were enrolled, 20 of whom were untreated. Responses were complete response (n = 1), partial response (n = 15), and major response (n = 2), for overall and major response rate of 72% and 64%, respectively, on an intent-to-treat basis. Median serum IgM decreased from 3670 to 1590 mg/dL (P