Retrospective Study of Pola-BR for R/R LBCL

Ariel Perez, MD, a hematologist and medical oncologist at Miami Cancer Institute of Baptist Health South Florida, discusses polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy) in combination with bendamustine (Bendeka) and rituximab (Rituxan; Pola-BR) since garnering approval from the FDA and studies that evaluated the combination.

Treatment with Pola-BR in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) first showed promise in a phase 1b/2 study (NCT02257567). When assessed in comparison with another rituximab-containing regimen, Pola-BR demonstrated a higher number of complete responses in patients and achieved a reduction in the risk of death by 58%.

Then, investiagtors at Miami Cancer Institute assessed their institutional records in order to improve outcomes of patients who received the Pola-BR combination.

Transcription:

0:08 | Polatuzumab vedotin is an antibody drug conjugate targeting CD-79. Its approval for at least 2 prior lines of therapy in this specific regimen after resection is based on a phase 1B/2 study. This drug is a very effective regimen in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma patients and it is an important addition.

0:34 | In this retrospective study, we looked at our institutional outcomes of 22 patients treated with polatuzumab vedotin in combination with rituximab with or without the addition of bendamustine. We looked at it in the second-line setting.

0:48 | The current standard-of-care for patients that have an early relapse [less than 12 months after treatment] or primary refractory disease is CD19-targeted [chimeric antigen receptor] CAR T-cell therapy, but in community setting, we need to come up with effective strategies to bridge these patients until they can get CAR T-cell therapy. In our institution, we usually use rituximab with polatuzumab, either as a bridge to CAR T-cell therapy or another cellular therapy. Rituximab can also be used in combination with bendamustine. In terms of patients that are going to CAR T-cell therapy, we avoid the use of bendamustine prior to leukapheresis to avoid the negative impact on cell fitness.