Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is defined as a B-cell lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. Data from patients in Latin America on WM are scarce. Researchers are hoping to fill the void by analyzing therapeutic and clinical outcome patterns in Latin American patients.

Treatment and Survival

The researchers analyzed WM patients in seven Latin American countries from 1991 through 2019 who were diagnosed with WM. Twenty-four centers in Latin America were represented in the study.

The goals of the study were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

One hundred fifty-nine cases, symptomatic at the time of diagnosis, were identified. The median age was sixty-seven while sixty-two percent were males.

The IPSSWM scoring system was available in 141 patients. Twenty-seven patients were tested for the MYD88 gene with 89% of these patients carrying the MYD88 mutation. Results were:

·      40 percent were high risk

·      37 percent were intermediate risk

·      23 percent were low risk

Results

142 first and second-line treatments were administered to 142 patients with chemoimmunotherapy being the most common first-and second-line treatment. Ibrutinib was only administered to eighteen patients. Follow-up continued for sixty-nine months. Patients were monitored for sixty-nine months. The five-year overall survival rate was eighty-one percent.

Conclusion:

The study was conducted due to the need for access to novel agents and molecular testing in Latin America. Yet the end results were similar to results that were reported internationally.

The research team used the IPSSWM score as a determinant for PFS and OS emphasizing the need for improved diagnostic programs and treatments in Latin America.

Check out the original study in the journal JCO Global Oncology.