Page 184 - Haematologica Vol. 110 - January 2025

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
(Online Supplementary Table S1). In terms of previous vac- cination status, 195 (91%) patients had received at least one dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and 141 (66%) patients had received 3 or more doses; mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 was the vaccine most frequently used. No differences in vaccination status were observed between groups in the raw data (85% bendamustine vs. 92% cyclophosphamide, P=0.397) or IPTW analysis (87% bendamustine vs. 92% cy- clophosphamide, P=0.482). The seroconversion rate was 22% in the overall cohort, with no differences according to the type of first-line treatment (35% bendamustine vs. 21% cyclophosphamide, P=0.156); these results were con- firmed in the IPTW analysis (32% bendamustine vs. 21% cyclophosphamide, P=0.315) (Figure 1A, B). OS according to the induction therapy was determined for the overall co- hort. A shorter survival was observed in the bendamustine group, compared to the cyclophosphamide group (HR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.08-0.56, P=0.0019). Regarding the OS of patients
A
diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection, a shorter survival was observed in the bendamustine group compared to the cyclophosphamide group (HR: 0.08, 95% CI: 0.02-0.31, P<0.001) (Figure 2A); these results were confirmed in the IPTW analysis (HR: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.03-0.41, P=0.001) (Figure 2B). With a median follow-up of 20.9 months, 36 (17%) pa- tients had relapsed (31 FL and 5 MCL) and 16 patients had died. Regarding patients who received the RCVP regimen due to significant cardiac comorbidities, no deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 infection were observed. Among the causes of death, 9 were due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, with significant differences between the bendamustine and cyclophospha- mide groups (25% vs. 2%, respectively, P<0.001).
In our series, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected therapy outcomes in patients diagnosed with FL and MCL, causing treatment delays in 44% and suspensions in 22% of patients receiving rituximab as maintenance treatment. This modification in the maintenance regimen due to
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