Brentuximab Vedotin + AVD and ISRT Efficacious for Early Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma

Brentuximab vedotin with doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (AVD) followed by involved-site radiotherapy (ISRT) was efficacious and well-tolerated in patients with early stage Hodgkin lymphoma, including those with bulky disease, a study published in the journal Blood has shown.¹

For this multicenter pilot study, investigators enrolled 30 patients with newly diagnosed, early stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma with unfavorable risk features. Participants were first treated with 4 cycles of brentuximab vedotin and AVD. Ninety percent and 93% of patients achieved a negative PET scan after 2 and 4 cycles of brentuximab vedotin plus AVD, respectively.

Those who achieved a negative positron tomography scan then received ISRT at a dose of 30 Gy. All of the 25 patients who completed brentuximab vedotin plus chemotherapy and ISRT achieved a complete response.

Two of the 27 patients who achieved a negative PET scan had biopsy-proven primary refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and were treated off-study.

After a median follow-up of 18.8 months, the 1-year progression-free survival rate was 93.3% (95% CI, 84-102).

Investigators observed no clinically significant cases of non-infectious pneumonitis. Grade 3 or higher adverse events, including febrile neutropenia, peripheral neuropathy, and hypertension, were reported in 4 patients.

Excluding the 2 patients with primary refractory disease, all patients treated with brentuximab vedotin plus AVD followed by ISRT were disease-free at the time of analysis. These results suggest that this regimen is highly active in this patient population, including those with substantial disease bulk.                             

Reference

1. Kumar A, Casulo C, Yahalom J, et al. Brentuximab vedotin and AVD followed by involved-site radiotherapy in early stage, unfavorable risk Hodgkin lymphoma. Blood. 2016 Jul 25. doi: 10.1182/blood-2016-03-703470 [Epub ahead of print]