Abstract
We report our experience on rituximab–cyclophosphamide–dexamethasone (RCD) combination therapy for the treatment of autoimmune disorders (AIDs) in 48 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. Overall, 81% of patients were relapsing for AID after previous treatment with corticosteroids, splenectomy, rituximab or alemtuzumab. Diagnosis of AID was autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in 26 (54%), autoimmune thrombocytopenia (AITP) in 9 (18.8%), Evan's syndrome in 8 (16.7%) and pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) in 5 patients (10.5%). Median time of autoimmune disorder (AID) onset from CLL diagnosis was 60 months (range: 0–240), and CLL was considered progressive in 40% of subjects upon AID diagnosis (complex AID). Median hemoglobin pre-treatment was 7.7 g/100 ml, and median platelet count 36.5 × 109/l, returning to a median of 12.5 /100ml and 37.5 × 109/l, respectively. Overall, an 89.5% response rate was obtained with this combination, irrespective of the AID type. Relapse occurred in 19 patients (39.6%). Median duration of response for autoimmunity (DR-AI) was 24 months, but DR-AI was higher for patients presenting: (1) AID early during CLL course (<3 years), or (2) both PRCA and AIHA. Median time to CLL progression in 48 patients was 16 months, but this time was statistically shorter for Evan's syndrome and AITP patients as compared with AIHA and PRCA patients. This study emphasizes the relevance of CLL-directed immune chemotherapy in the management of CLL-associated AID.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hamblin TJ . Autoimmune complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Semin Oncol 2006; 33: 230–239.
Karlsson C, Hansson L, Celsing F, Lundin J . Treatment of severe refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia with alemtuzumab (humanized CD52 monoclonal antibody). Leukemia 2007; 21: 511–514.
Hallek M, Cheson BD, Catovsky D, Caligaris-Capio F, Dighiero G, Döhner H et al. International workshop on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (2008) Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a report from the international workshop on chronic lymphocytic leukemia updating the National Cancer Institute-working group 1996 guidelines. Blood 2008; 111: 5446–5456.
Dearden C . Disease-specific complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program 2008; 2008: 450–456.
Hall AM, Vickers MA, McLeod E, Barker RN . Rh autoantigen presentation to helper T cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia by malignant B cells. Blood 2005; 105: 2007–2015.
Gupta N, Kavuru S, Patel D, Janson D, Driscoll N, Ahmed S et al. Rituximab-based chemotherapy for steroid-refractory autoimmune hemolytic anemia of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia 2002; 16: 2092–2095.
Kaufman M, Limaye S, Driscoll N, Johnson C, Caramanica A, Lebowicz Y et al. A combination of rituximab, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone effectively treats immune cytopenias of chronic lymphocytic leukemias. Leuk Lymphoma 2009; 50: 892–899.
Bowen DA, Call TG, Shanafelt T, Kay N, Schwager S, Reinalda M et al. Treatment of autoimmune cytopenia complicating progressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone. Leuk Lymphoma 2010; 51: 620–627.
Zent CS, Ding W, Schwager S, Reinalda M, Hoyer D, Jelinek D et al. The prognostic significance of cytopenia in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Br J Haematol 2008; 141: 615–621.
Mauro F, Foa R, Cerretti R, Giannarelli D, Coluzzi S, Girelli G . Autoimmune hemolytic anemia in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: clinical, therapeutic, and prognostic features. Blood 2000; 95: 2786–2792.
Zent CS, Kay NE . Autoimmune complications in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 2010; 23: 47–59.
Visco C, Ruggeri M, Evangelista ML, Stasi R, Zanotti R, Giaretta I et al. Impact of immune thrombocytopenia on the clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood 2008; 111: 1110–1116.
Ghazal H . Successful treatment of pure red cell aplasia with rituximab in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood 2002; 99: 1092–1094.
Narra K, Borghaei H, Al-Saleem T, Höglund M, Smith MR . Pure red cell aplasia in B-cell lymphoprliferative disorder treated with rituximab: report of two cases and review of the literature. Leukemia Res 2006; 30: 109–114.
D’Arena G, Laurenti L, Capalbo S, D’Arco AM, De Filippi R, Marcacci G et al. Rituximab therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia-associated autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Am J Hematol 2006; 81: 598–602.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to patients and their referring physicians. In addition, we would like to thank Professor G Laurent, Professor O Tournilhac, Professor B Coiffier, Professor G Salles, and Professor M Michallet for their helpful contribution in reading and discussing the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rossignol, J., Michallet, AS., Oberic, L. et al. Rituximab–cyclophosphamide–dexamethasone combination in the management of autoimmune cytopenias associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia 25, 473–478 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2010.278
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2010.278
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Ibrutinib in combination with rituximab is highly effective in treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with steroid refractory and relapsed autoimmune cytopenias
Leukemia (2023)
-
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of 100 adult patients with pure red cell aplasia
Annals of Hematology (2022)
-
Efficacy and safety of rituximab in autoimmune and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Experimental Hematology & Oncology (2020)
-
A Concise Review of Autoimmune Cytopenias in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports (2017)
-
Current Approaches for the Treatment of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia
Archivum Immunologiae et Therapiae Experimentalis (2013)