Blazejak C, Stranzenbach R, Gosman J, et al. - Low-dose gemcitabine therapy use in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) cases is supported, as it conferred 62% overall response (OR) and progression-free survival (PFS) of 12 months an almost identical response rate and survival relative to the standard dose therapy documented in previous studies but with a significantly improved safety profile and tolerability.

• Gemcitabine employed in the current standard regimen is frequently related to adverse events (AE).

• A retrospective, multicenter study with 64 CTCL and blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasia patients.

• Patients received gemcitabine in average absolute dosage of 1,800 mg/m ² per cycle, which is 50% lower than standard dosage of 3,600 mg/m ² per cycle (1,200 mg/m ² day 1, 8, 15).

• At 4–6 weeks after the sixth cycle, OR was 62% and a complete response was seen in 11%.

• The median time of PFS and median time to next treatment was 12 months and 7 months, respectively.

• Serious side effects occurred in only 3/63 patients.

• Minor to moderate side effects (CTCAE grade 0–2) occurred in almost 73% of the patients.

• Most common AE included fatigue (27.2%), fever (22.7%), and mild blood count alteration (18.2%).