bendamustine & rituximab
BR is a combination of two drugs: bendamustine and rituximab often used to treat Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinaemia (WM). Bendamustine is a type of chemotherapy and rituximab is a monoclonal antibody.
You receive bendamustine through a small tube into your vein (intravenously). You normally receive bendamustine on days 1 and 2 of each cycle.
You also receive rituximab intravenously, and this is usually given on day 1 of each cycle. Sometimes your dose of rituximab will be delayed if you blood test results show that you have high levels of IgM. This is because rituximab can cause IgM to increase (called an IgM flare).
You will usually have 4-6 cycles of BR.
