Decreasing Frequency of Romidepsin Infusions May Prolong Response

Decreasing the frequency of infusions of romidepsin in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, particularly mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome, who achieve a response may prolong response, a study published in JAMA Oncology has shown.¹

Romidepsin is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor indicated for the treatment cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in patients who have received at least 1 prior systemic therapy. It is intended to be continued in patients in 4-week cycles as long as the patient continues to benefit from and tolerates the drug.

Previous research has demonstrated that durable responses are possible, but the optimal duration of treatment remains unclear. Therefore, researchers sought to review the long-term use of romidepsin in responders who received a dose-sparing regimen.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from the medical records of 47 patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, including 23 with mycosis fungoides, 15 with Sézary syndrome, and 9 with other types of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Of those, 17 were treated for more than 6 months, thus considered long-term responders. These patients included 10 with Sézary syndrome and 7 with mycosis fungoides.

Results showed that the median duration of treatment was 15 months, with the longest duration being 34 months. Researchers found that 69% of the 42 with data available had reported treatment-related adverse events.

The study demonstrated no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between the 21 patients considered short-term responders and the 17 long-term responders (P = .50).

Reference

1. Martinez-Escala M, Kuzel TM, Kaplan JB, et al. Durable responses with maintenance dose-sparing regimens of romidepsin in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma [published online ahead of print April 7, 2016]. JAMA Oncol. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.0004.