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Bendamustine Hydrochloride Injection (Treanda®)
By William T. Elliott, MD, FACP, and James Chan, PharmD, PhD . Dr. Elliott is Chair, Formulary Committee, Northern California Kaiser Permanente; Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco; Dr. Chan is Pharmacy Quality and Outcomes Manager, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA. Drs. Chan and Elliott report no financial relationship to this field of study.
Bendamustine has received FDA approval, after priority review, for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. It is a mechlorethamine derivative that acts as an alkylating agent. It is manufactured by Pharmachemie B.V. in the Netherlands and marketed by Cephalon, Inc as Treanda.
Indications
Bendamustine is indicated for the treatment of chron- ic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). 1
Dosage
The recommended dose is 100 mg/m 2 given intravenously over 30 minutes on Day 1 and 2 of a 28-day cycle, up to 6 cycles. The dose should be delayed if Grade 4 hematologic toxicity or clinically significant Grade 2 or higher nonhematologic toxicities occurs. If the toxicities sufficiently improve bendamustine administration may be reinstated. The dose should be reduced to...