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Venetoclax monotherapy induced rapid and sustained response in a frail patient with refractory AL amyloidosis: Less is more?

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Abstract

Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL) is a plasma cell disorder characterized by accumulation of misfolded proteins, which can induce organ damage. Venetoclax is active in multiple myeloma patients, in particular those with t(11;14) translocation. t(11;14) translocation is the most common cytogenetic abnormality in AL patients; venetoclax may thus be a useful additional treatment option for this disease. However, a recent trial in multiple myeloma patients (BELLINI) reported increased mortality associated with venetoclax versus placebo in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone. In this report, we describe an AL patient who had suffered from recurrent infection during previous treatment, but who responded to and tolerated well single-agent venetoclax for more than 1 year. The present report indicates that venetoclax monotherapy may be active and safe for refractory AL amyloidosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, SAR

    Pui-Lun Yip, June S. M. Lau & Ching-Pong Lam

Authors
  1. Pui-Lun Yip
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  2. June S. M. Lau
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  3. Ching-Pong Lam
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Contributions

PLY treated the patient and wrote and approved the manuscript. JSML and CPL treated the patient and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pui-Lun Yip.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report.

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Yip, PL., Lau, J.S.M. & Lam, CP. Venetoclax monotherapy induced rapid and sustained response in a frail patient with refractory AL amyloidosis: Less is more?. Int J Hematol 112, 234–237 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-020-02857-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-020-02857-2

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