FM (chemotherapy)

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FM in the context of chemotherapy means a chemotherapy regimen used as first-line therapy in indolent lymphomas. In combination with rituximab it is called R-FM or RFM or FM-R or FMR.

The [R]-FM regimen consists of:

  1. Rituximab - an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that is able to kill both normal B cells and malignant ones;
  2. Fludarabine - an antimetabolite;
  3. Mitoxantrone - a synthetic anthracycline analogue (an anthraquinone) that is able to intercalate DNA and prevent mitosis. [1]

This regimen is also sometimes used in some autoimmune disorders that are inherently sensitive to rituximab, fludarabine and mitoxantrone in monotherapies (e.g. multiple sclerosis).

Dosing regimen

DrugDoseModeDays
Rituximab 375 mg/m2IV infusionDay 1
Fludarabine 25 mg/m2IV infusionDays 1-3
Mitoxantrone 10 mg/m2IV infusionDay 1

References