Young adults are at greatest risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer of the blood and immune system that falls into the lymphoma category. One of the lead authors, Dr. Jonathan Friedberg, director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center, recalls that standard care for Hodgkin’s lymphoma typically includes chemotherapy and often radiation therapy in patients. the youngest,
Which “already” allows for a cure rate of over 80%.
However, the 20% who are not cured have a long way to go.
The team’s objective is therefore toimprove this cure rate by 80%while minimizing side effects and long-term toxicities. With this new treatment, they believe they have found a way to reduce the long-term side effects of treatment, including second cancers later in life as well as heart and lung complications.
Immunotherapy that increases survival
This immunotherapy appears to be able to increase the survival rate of patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma to the remarkable level of 92%, suggesting a new clinical protocol for the disease. The phase III trial is being conducted on nearly 1,000 patients suffering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma with an average age of 30 years. The trial also took a special approach combining younger and older patients, receiving exactly the same treatments. Half of the patients received the standard treatment: chemotherapy and a drug called brentuximab vedotin. The other half, chemotherapy plus nivolumab immunotherapy, which targets a genetic alteration common in Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The analysis reveals, after 2 years of follow-up, that:
- 92% of the “immunotherapy” group survived, without progression vs. 83% in the standard care group.
Ces preliminary data appeared so strong that the National Cancer Institute (NCI) ordered its premature termination to facilitate faster review of immunotherapy (fast track) by the US Food and Drug Administration. This must determine whether nivolumab should be added to standard treatment for stage 3 or 4 Hodgkin lymphoma.
Nivolumab is already approved for other indications, and according to the researchers, the drug should quickly become part of standard treatment guidelines.
The study was supported by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Laboratory, which produces nivolumab.
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