Medicina · Published 2026-08-05 · DOI 10.3390/medicina62081502
Ozlem Candan, Basak Buyukkurkcu, Sami Karti, Ant Uzay
<i>Background and Objectives:</i> Relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R NHL) remains a major therapeutic challenge, particularly in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL), who frequently exhibit poor responses to salvage therapy and inferior survival outcomes. Achieving adequate disease control before autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is a critical determinant of long-term survival. The bendamustine, gemcitabine, vinorelbine, and prednisolone (BEGEV) regimen has demonstrated high efficacy and favorable tolerability in relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma; however, data regarding its role in NHL are extremely limited. <i>Materials and Methods:</i> We conducted a retrospective, single-center analysis of patients with R/R NHL who received the BEGEV regimen as salvage therapy. Clinical characteristics, response rates, transplantation outcomes, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety data were evaluated. Treatment responses were assessed according to standard radiologic response criteria. Survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan–Meier method. <i>Results:</i> A total of 68 patients with R/R NHL were included in the analysis. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was the predominant histological subtype, accounting for 49 patients (72.1%). BEGEV was administered predominantly in later salvage settings. Response assessments were available for 56 patients. Among evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) was 73.2%, whereas the ITT ORR was 60.3% (41/68). Following BEGEV therapy, 25 patients (36.8%) proceeded to autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), while 8 patients (11.8%) underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). Exploratory analyses demonstrated longer overall survival (log-rank <i>p</i> = 0.012) and progression-free survival (log-rank <i>p</i> = 0.011) among patients who subsequently underwent transplantation; however, these findings should be interpreted with caution because of the retrospective study design and the potential for selection and immortal time biases. Median PFS and OS were 4 and 26 months, respectively. Adverse events were predominantly hematologic and generally manageable. <i>Conclusions:</i> BEGEV may represent a reasonable salvage regimen for selected patients with R/R NHL and may facilitate disease control allowing subsequent transplantation in selected patients, including selected PTCL patients.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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Candan, O., Buyukkurkcu, B., Karti, S., et al. (2026). BEGEV as Salvage Therapy in Relapsed/Refractory Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Real-World Outcomes and Transplantation Feasibility. Medicina. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina62081502