Overview on clinical trials in Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia

2014 Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia is characterized by lymphoplasmocytic cells accumulation predominantly in bone marrow, secreting immunoglobulin M monoclonal protein. There is not a standard of care as disease is rare and there are no large randomized trials to address treatment. Asymptomatic patients should be observed. In symptomatic patients treatment should be individualized considering patient fitness and disease characteristics. In elderly unfit patients single agent treatment may be still considered an option. In younger and fit patients immunochemotherapy should be considered the standard of care as recent data showed an improvement in quality of responses, progression-free and overall survival. In this overview are reported the most significant clinical trials that may help in treatment decision.