Nivolumab Active After Both Auto-HSCT, Brentuximab Vedotin in Hodgkin Lymphoma

Nivolumab induced frequent responses with an acceptable safety profile for patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma who progressed after both autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) and brentuximab vedotin, according to a phase 2 study published in The Lancet Oncology.¹

Researchers assessed the clinical benefit and safety of single-agent nivolumab for patients who failed both auto-HSCT and brentuximab vedotin in this single-arm study, in which 80 patients were enrolled. Participants received nivolumab at a dose of 3 mg/kg intravenously over 60 minutes every 2 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or death.

Results of the ongoing study showed that 66.3% (95% CI, 54.8-76.4) of the 80 patients achieved an objective response as assessed by an independent radiological review committee, at a median follow-up of 8.9 months.

The most common immunotherapy-related adverse events were fatigue (25%), infusion-related reaction (20%), and rash (16%). The most frequently reported grade 3 to 4 adverse events were neutropenia (5%) and increased lipase concentrations (5%); the most common serious adverse event was pyrexia (4%).

Although 3 patients died, no deaths were considered related to nivolumab therapy.                             

Reference

1. Younes A, Santoro A, Shipp M, et al. Nivolumab for classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma after failure of both autologous stem-cell transplantation and brentuximab vedotin: a multicentre, multicohort, single-arm phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2016 Jul 20. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(16)30167-X [Epub ahead of print]