LYMPHOMAS

Lenalidomide in addition to rituximab, called the R² regimen, led to a significant increase in progression-free survival compared with rituximab alone in patients with relapsed/refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma in results from the phase III AUGMENT trial.

Overall survival was more than doubled when the CD79b-targeted antibody–drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin was added to treatment with bendamustine and rituximab for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Mosunetuzumab, a CD3 and CD20 bispecific antibody, induced complete remission rates over 30% in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma and relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or transformed follicular lymphoma, and demonstrated a tolerable safety profile, showing promise for these patients with B-cell indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas. 

According to findings from the FLYER trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, treatment with 2 fewer frontline cycles of R-CHOP greatly reduced toxicity in younger patients with low-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The progression-free survival rates were also similar between the 2 arms. 

Victor Chow, MD, senior hematology-oncology fellow, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses a retrospective study assessing outcomes of patients with large B-cell lymphomas and progressive disease following CD19-Specific CAR T-cell therapy during the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

After a median of 19 months of follow-up, durable objective response rates were sustained with tisagenlecleucel in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. These updated findings from the phase II JULIET study were presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting. 

Two variants of the chemotherapy regimen R-CHOP resulted in comparable overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated stage III or IV indolent B-cell lymphoma, including grades 1 to 3 follicular lymphoma, according to a long-term follow-up analysis from a combined phase II/III randomized trial.

The immunomodulating agent lenalidomide induced a complete response in 74% of patients with high tumor burden follicular lymphoma when used in combination with rituximab and a 4-drug chemotherapy regimen, according to a recent study.

Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia in a Newly Diagnosed Patient

Relapsed/Refractory Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

The FDA has granted approval to the rituximab (Rituxan) biosimilar, CT-P10 (Truxima; rituximab-abbs), for the treatment of adult patients with CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy, making it the first biosimilar approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with NHL.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Charalambos Andreadis, MD, MSCE, discussed the use of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with DLBCL, as well as the toxicities associated with each product. He also highlights other promising therapies in the treatment landscape.

Andre Goy, MD, chairman and director, chief of lymphoma, and director of clinical and translational cancer research at John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses data from the RELEVANCE trial, which randomized patients with follicular lymphoma in need of therapy to receive either rituximab plus lenalidomide or a physician&rsquo;s choice of bendamustine and rituximab plus CHOP or R-CHOP.