ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the effectiveness and safety of bortezomib combined with conventional chemotherapy regimens for treatment of relapsed/refractory acute B lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL).Methods:Twenty patients with relapsed/refractory B-ALL treated with bortezomib combined with chemotherapy in Jiaozuo People's Hospital Affiliated to Xinxiang Medical College, Jiaozuo Coal Industry Group Central Hospital and the Second People's Hospital of Jiaozuo from September 2021 to June 2022 were collected, and their treatment response and prognosis were retrospectively analyzed.Results:The median age of the 20 patients was 49.5 years old (25.0-58.5 years old); 12 were male and 8 were female; 12 were relapsed and 8 were refractory. All patients completed 1 course of bortezomib (1.6 mg/m 2, subcutaneous injection on days 2 and 16) combined with chemotherapy. Before bortezomib treatment, there were 0 case of complete remission (CR), 7 cases of partial remission (PR) and 13 cases of non-remission (NR) in 20 patients, the objective remission rate (ORR) was 35% (7/20), and all were positive for minimal residual disease (MRD). After bortezomib treatment, there were 13 cases of CR, 3 cases of PR and 4 cases of NR, and the ORR was 80% (16/20); the MRD of all patients decreased, among which 13 cases (65%) turned to negative; the differences were statistically significant when comparing CR rate, ORR and MRD negative conversion rate before and after bortezomib treatment ( χ2 values were 65.41, 8.83 and 19.30, all P < 0.05). Four of the 20 patients developed central nervous system infiltration despite bone marrow remission, and one died from post-chemotherapy infection. Myelosuppression occurred in all patients, the incidence of infection was 90% (18/20), and the incidence of digestive system adverse effects was 75% (15/20). Conclusions:Bortezomib combined with conventional chemotherapy regimens is effective and well tolerated in the treatment of relapsed/refractory ALL, and has the potential to enable patients with multi-drug resistant relapse to overcome resistance and to achieve deep remission.