Fludarabine, Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab: an effective chemoimmunotherapy combination with high remission rates for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Abstract

Combined Fludarabine and Cyclophosphamide is now standard first-line therapy in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and the addition of Rituximab improves outcome. We adopted a modified Fludarabine, Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab (FCR) protocol in treating 39 patients (median age 57 years) with progressive or advanced CLL. Depending on CR, treatment was given for four or six cycles. Twenty-six patients were treatment naïve and 13 were pre-treated. Twelve patients had progressive Binet stage A, 16 stage B and 11 stage C disease. The overall response rate (ORR) was 100%, with 75% achieving CR. Neutropenia was the major toxicity in 71/187 (38%) of the cycles. There were five deaths, two from infection and three from progressive disease. Twenty-six of 31 patients have maintained their post-treatment disease status for a median of 17 months (2-41). We conclude that FCR is a feasible, well-tolerated and effective treatment for patients with CLL.