Assessment of treatment-related myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with tositumomab and iodine I131 tositumomab.

The incidence of treatment-related myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia (tMDSs/tAML) after tositumomab and iodine I(131) tositumomab administration to previously treated and untreated patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was evaluated. A total of 1071 patients were enrolled in 7 studies: 995 with relapsed/refractory low-grade NHL, +/- transformation (median, 3 prior regimens [range, 1-13 regimens]) and 76 patients with previously untreated low-grade follicular NHL. A single dose of iodine tositumomab and I(131) tositumomab was administered. For tMDS/tAML patients, baseline and posttherapy peripheral blood and marrow specimens were reviewed in a blinded fashion. Median follow-up was 6 years from diagnosis and 2 years from radioimmunotherapy (RIT) for previously treated patients, and 4.6 years from radioimmunotherapy for previously untreated patients. tMDS/tAML was reported in 35 (3.5%) of 995 patients (annualized incidence, 1.6%/y [95% confidence interval, 1.0%-2.0%/y]), and 52% of the tMDS/tAML diagnoses of tMDS/tAML were confirmed in a blinded review (annualized incidence of 1.1%/y [95% confidence interval, 0.7%-1.6%/y]). Of the 25 cases, 10 patients (40%) were diagnosed with tMDS/tAML prior to receiving radioimmunotherapy; 2 (8%) had no pathologic or clinical evidence to support such a diagnosis; and 13 (52%) were confirmed to have developed tMDS/tAML following RIT. This incidence is consistent with that expected on the basis of patients' prior chemotherapy for NHL. With a median follow-up approaching 5 years, no case of tMDS/tAML has been reported in any of the 76 patients receiving iodine I(131) tositumomab as their initial therapy (P = .011 compared with previously treated patients).