Dr. Abdulhaq on the Safety Profile of Tafasitamab in DLBCL

Haifaa Abdulhaq, MD, an associate professor in the School of Medicine of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF); the director of hematology and the director of the Hematology/Oncology fellowship program at UCSF Fresno, discusses the safety profile of tafasitamab (MOR208) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

The phase 2 L-MIND study enrolled patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL who are not eligible for autologous stem cell transplant. Patients were treated with the combination of tafasitamaband lenalidomide (Revlimid). Data from that study show that the combination was well tolerated, says Abdulhaq.

Adverse events are expected with a monoclonal antibody, such as allergic reactions, but otherwise, it was well tolerated, and those events usually occur in patients after 12 cycles when lenalidomide was stopped, adds Abdulhaq. Investigators did not see significant toxicity or rates of infection after those 12 cycles.

In another study, tafasitamab had also shown promising activity as a single agent. Although, it is typically preferred to use the agent in combination with chemotherapy, because it has shown promise as a single agent, the monotherapy can be considered for a frail patient with DLBCL who might not be able to tolerate a combination therapy, concludes Abdulhaq.