Thomas Habermann, MD

Thomas Habermann, MD, a hematologist with the Mayo Clinic, discusses the combination of rituximab (Rituxan), cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) as a treatment method for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Though R-CHOP has been a highly effective therapy for DLBCL, little has been done to improve upon it since its development. The rituximab era showed major progress in the management of toxicities, yet nothing has been done in terms of treatment development.

According to Habermann, the addition of polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy) to R-CHOP may help to improve outcomes for patients with DLBCL, and the future of this space may lie with targeted therapies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

 Polatuzumab in addition to R-CHOP has an improvement in outcomes. We've not seen the data, and that will be critical. If one looks at the current NCCN guidelines, it's still not outdated. We are really looking for other, newer, better, therapeutic interventions that improve outcomes and overall survival. I had the privilege back in the 90s of chairing the North American trial, which then led to the regulatory approval of R-CHOP.

There were 2 other trials, 1 in France and 1 in Germany, that changed the international landscape. We know that we're getting better with interventions that we can implement with relapse, but in the upfront management, we still are not there in randomized clinical trials to prove that we've beaten the standard of care at this point in time.

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Thomas Habermann, MD, discusses R-CHOP and how it can be improved upon as a treatment method for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Thomas Habermann, MD | Authors

Articles

Polatuzumab Vedotin Plus R-CHOP May Improve Outcomes For DLBCL Patients