Bendamustine treatment in a heavily pretreated Hodgkin lymphoma patient

Hodgkin lymphoma is a curable disease in the vast majority of cases with a cure rate approaching 85 to 95% with initial therapy. However, some patients experience relapse and in patients with relapsed/refractory disease, prognosis remains poor and active agents are needed in this setting. Bendamustine is an alkylating agent with clinical activity against various lymphomas including follicular, mantle, diffuse large B cell lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia; however, its activity in Hodgkin lymphoma is not yet well established. We report a case of a 55-year-old man with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma that is heavily pretreated and was successfully treated with four cycles of single agent bendamustine (90 mg/m(2)) with complete response after two cycles and without any significant toxicity. These findings suggest that bendamustine is highly active in Hodgkin lymphoma.