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Efficacy of bortezomib in systemic AL amyloidosis with relapsed/refractory clonal disease

National Amyloidosis Centre, Centre for Amyloidosis & Acute Phase Proteins, Department of Medicine (Hampstead Campus), Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, United Kingdom

Correspondence: Ashutosh Wechalekar, National Amyloidosis Centre, Department of Medicine, Royal Free and University College Medical School, Rowland Hill St, London NW3 2PF, United Kingdom. E-mail: a.wechalekar{at}medsch.ucl.ac.uk

We report preliminary observations on the efficacy of bortezomib in 20 patients with AL amyloidosis whose clonal disease was active despite treatment with a median of 3 lines of prior chemotherapy, including a thalidomide combination in all cases. Patients received a median of 3 (range 1–6) cycles of bortezomib and 9 (45%) patients received concurrent dexamethasone. Three (15%) patients achieved complete hematologic responses, and a further 13 (65%) achieved partial responses. Fifteen (75%) patients experienced some degree of toxicity, which in 8 (40%) cases resulted in discontinuation of bortezomib. Bortezomib shows promise in the treatment of systemic AL amyloidosis.

Key words: amyloidosis, bortezomib, chemotherapy..

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