Temsirolimus in Combination with Bendamustine and Rituximab (BeRT) for the Treatment of Relapsed Mantle Cell and Follicular Lymphoma: Final Phase I/II Results

Abstract Background: mTOR inhibition has been shown to be effective in various subtypes of malignant lymphomas (Smith et al, JCO 2010). Furthermore, in relapsed MCL a phase III trial demonstrated superiority of Temsirolimus to chemotherapy. Although novel treatment options as Ibrutinib have changed the treatment landscape for MCL, no curative potential could be shown for this approach and novel concepts continue to be needed. Several trials provided promising results when Temsirolimus is combined with agents like Rituximab (Ansell et al, Lancet Oncology 2011) or chemoimmunotherapy, as shown in part I (phase I) of the reported trial (Hess, Leukemia, 2015). We now report the final analysis of…