Ramchandren, Radhakrishnan

Background: Patients (pts) with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) frequently experience reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (Oerlemans et al, Ann Hematol 2011). Nivolumab, a fully human IgG4 anti-programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor monoclonal antibody, demonstrated efficacy and clinically meaningful improvement in pt-reported outcomes (PROs) in pts with relapsed/refractory cHL in cohorts A, B, and C of CheckMate 205 (NCT02181738) (Armand et al, J Clin Oncol 2018; Engert et al, ASH 2017). Nivolumab monotherapy followed by nivolumab + doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (N-AVD) demonstrated an objective response rate of 84% in newly diagnosed cHL (cohort D of CheckMate 205; Ramchandren et al, EHA 2018). We present PROs in CheckMate 205 cohort D. Methods: Pts ≥18 years of age with untreated, advanced-stage cHL, with ECOG performance status (PS) of 0–1 received 4 doses of nivolumab monotherapy (240 mg IV Q2W) followed by N-AVD for 6 cycles (12 doses). Pts then entered the follow-up (FU) period. PROs were an exploratory endpoint, assessed using the EuroQol 5 Dimensions-3 level (EQ-5D-3L) and associated visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) in all treated pts who had both a baseline (monotherapy cycle 1) and post-baseline assessment. EQ-VAS ranges from 0–100, with higher scores indicating better HRQoL. In EQ-5D-3L, pts can report no, some, or extreme problems in each of 5 dimensions (mobility, self-care, activity, pain, and anxiety). Results: 51 pts were treated. At baseline, median age was 37 years, 63% were male, 59% had ECOG PS of 0. 49 pts (96%) completed baseline EQ-VAS. Mean EQ-VAS scores exceeded the mean baseline score at the end of monotherapy, after 2 combination cycles, at the end of therapy, and during follow-up (Table 1). The proportion of pts reporting some or extreme problems in EQ-5D-3L was numerically lower than or similar to baseline after monotherapy for all dimensions, but was numerically higher than baseline (dimensions of mobility and activity) after 2 combination cycles, and remained close to or numerically below baseline during follow-up (dimensions of self-care, activity, pain, and anxiety). Conclusions: Pt-reported HRQoL, as assessed by observed mean EQ-VAS scores, did not deteriorate from baseline during treatment with nivolumab followed by N-AVD. Proportions of pts reporting problems in individual EQ-5D-3L dimensions were generally similar to baseline during treatment and follow-up.

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate safety and efficacy outcomes for subjects on the ECHELON-1 study treated in North America (NA). Patients and Methods: ECHELON-1 is a global, open-label, randomized phase III study comparing doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine in combination with brentuximab vedotin (A+AVD) versus ABVD (AVD + bleomycin) as first-line therapy in subjects with stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL; NCT01712490). Subjects were randomized 1:1 to receive A+AVD or ABVD intravenously on days 1 and 15 of each 28-day cycle for up to 6 cycles. Results: The NA subgroup consisted of 497 subjects in the A+AVD (n = 250) and ABVD (n = 247) arms. Similar to the primary analysis based on the intent-to-treat population, the primary endpoint [modified progression-free survival (PFS) per independent review] demonstrated an improvement among subjects who received A+AVD compared with ABVD (HR = 0.60; P = 0.012). For PFS, the risk of progression or death was also reduced (HR = 0.50; P = 0.002). Subsequent anticancer therapies were lower in the A+AVD arm. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events (AEs) were more common, but there were fewer study discontinuations due to AEs in the A+AVD arm as compared with ABVD. Noted differences between arms included higher rates of febrile neutropenia (20% vs. 9%) and peripheral neuropathy (80% vs. 56%), but lower rates of pulmonary toxicity (3% vs. 10%) in subjects treated with A+AVD versus ABVD. Conclusions: The efficacy benefit and manageable toxicity profile observed in the NA subgroup of ECHELON-1 support A+AVD as a frontline treatment option for patients with stage III or IV cHL.

Key Points BV and Nivo were well-tolerated in patients with R/R HL, with less than 10% of patients treated with systemic steroids for immune-related AEs. The complete response rate was 61% (82% objective response rate), and patients were able to undergo stem cell transplant without adverse impact.

AbstractMantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a type of non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) with aggressive disease characteristics resulting in multiple relapses after initial treatment. Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory agent approved in the US for patients with relapsed/refractory MCL following bortezomib based on results from 3 multicenter phase II studies (2 including relapsed/refractory aggressive NHL and 1 focusing on MCL post‐bortezomib). The purpose of this report is to provide longer follow‐up on the MCL‐001 study (follow‐ups were 6.8 [NHL‐002], 7.6 [NHL‐003], and 52.2 [MCL‐001] months). The 206 relapsed MCL patients treated with single‐agent lenalidomide (25 mg/day PO, days 1 to 21 every 28‐days) had a median age of 67 years (63% ≥65 years), 91% with stage III/IV disease, and 50% with ≥4 previous treatment regimens. With a median follow‐up of X, the combined best overall response rate (ORR) was 33% (including 11% with complete remission [CR]/CR unconfirmed CRu). Lenalidomide produced rapid and durable responses with a median time to response of 2.2 months and median duration of response (DOR) of 16.6 months (95% CI: 11.1%‐29.8%). The safety profile was consistent and manageable; myelosuppression was the most common adverse event (AE). Overall, single‐agent lenalidomide showed consistent efficacy and safety in multiple phase II studies of heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory MCL, including those previously treated with bortezomib.

SummaryPatients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) generally respond to first‐line immunochemotherapy, but often show chemoresistance upon subsequent relapses, with poor outcome. Several studies of the immunomodulator, lenalidomide, have demonstrated its activity in MCL including the MCL‐001 study in relapsed/refractory patients who had failed defined prior therapies of anthracyclines or mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide, rituximab and also bortezomib. We present here the long‐term efficacy follow‐up of the prospective phase II MCL‐001 study (N = 134), including new exploratory analyses with baseline Ki‐67 (MIB1), a biological marker of tumour proliferation. With longer follow‐up, lenalidomide showed a 28% overall response rate [ORR; 8% complete response (CR)/CR unconfirmed (CRu)]. Median duration of response (DOR), progression‐free survival and overall survival were 16·6, 4·0 and 20·9 months, respectively. Myelosuppression continued to be the most common grade 3/4 toxicity. Several studies of MCL patients treated with chemotherapy, rituximab and bortezomib have shown an inverse association between survival and Ki‐67. Ki‐67 data in 81/134 MCL‐001 patients showed similar ORRs in both low (<30% or <50%) versus high (≥30% or ≥50%) Ki‐67–expressing groups, yet lower Ki‐67 levels demonstrated superior CR/CRu, DOR and survival outcomes. Overall, lenalidomide showed durable efficacy with a consistent safety profile in heavily pretreated, relapsed/refractory MCL post‐bortezomib.