Brentuximab vedotin in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. The Hellenic experience. Issue 1 (20th February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Angelopoulou, Maria K.; Vassilakopoulos, Theodoros P.; Batsis, Ioannis; Sakellari, Ioanna; Gkirkas, Konstantinos; Pappa, Vasiliki; Giannoulia, Panagiota; Apostolidis, Ioannis; Apostolopoulos, Christos; Roussou, Paraskevi; Panayiotidis, Panayiotis; Dimou, Maria; Kyrtsonis, Marie‐Christine; Palassopoulou, Maria; Vassilopoulos, Georgios; Moschogiannis, Maria; Kalpadakis, Christina; Margaritis, Dimitrios; Spyridonidis, Alexander; Michalis, Eurydiki; Anargyrou, Konstantinos; Repousis, Panagiotis; Hatzimichael, Eleutheria; Bousiou, Zoi; Poulakidas, Elias; Grentzelias, Dimitrios; Harhalakis, Nikolaos; Pangalis, Gerassimos A.; Anagnostopoulos, Achilles; Tsirigotis, Panagiotis
• Is Part Of: Hematological oncology. Volume 36:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 174
• Page End: 181
• Publication Date: 2017-02-20
• Subjects: autologous stem cell transplantation -- brentuximab vedotin -- Hodgkin lymphoma -- prognostic factors -- relapsed/refractory; Hematological oncology -- Periodicals; Hematology; Medical Oncology; 616.99418005
• DOI: 10.1002/hon.2383
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0278-0232

Abstract

Abstract: This retrospective study aimed to describe the Hellenic experience on the use of brentuximab vedotin (BV) in relapsed/refractory (R/R) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) given within its indication. From June 2011 to April 2015, ninety‐five patients with R/R HL, who received BV in 20 centers from Greece, were analyzed. Their median age was 33 years, and 62% were males. Sixty‐seven patients received BV after autologous stem cell transplantation failure, whereas 28 patients were treated with BV without a prior autologous stem cell transplantation, due to advanced age/comorbidities or chemorefractory disease. The median number of prior treatments was 4 and 44% of the patients were refractory to their most recent therapy. The median number of BV cycles was 8 (range, 2‐16), and the median time to best response was the fourth cycle. Fifty‐seven patients achieved an objective response: twenty‐two (23%), a complete response (CR), and 35 patients (37%), a partial, for an overall response rate of 60%. Twelve patients (13%) had stable disease, and the remaining twenty‐six (27%) had progressive disease as their best response. At a median follow‐up of 11.5 months, median progression‐free survival and overall survival were 8 and 26.5 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that chemosensitivity to treatment administered before BV was associated with a significantly increased probability of achieving response to BV ( P = .005). Bulky disease ( P = .01) and response to BV ( P <.001) were significant for progression‐free survival, while refractoriness to most recent treatment ( P = .04), bulky disease ( P = .005), and B‐symptoms ( P = .001) were unfavorable factors for overall survival. Among the 22 CRs, 5 remain in CR with no further treatment after BV at a median follow‐up of 13 months. In conclusion, our data indicate that BV is an effective treatment for R/R HL patients even outside clinical trials. Whether BV can cure a fraction of patients remains to be seen.