Dr. Ansell on the Updated Analysis of ECHELON-1 in Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, chair, faculty development and recruitment, consultant, Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the updated analysis of the phase 3 ECHELON-1 (NCT01712490) in classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

The trial compared brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (AVD) with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) in the frontline treatment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

When adding new drugs to treatment, there is the concern about long-term toxicities, Ansell says. Findings of the ECHELON-1 trial showed that the development of secondary solid tumor and hematologic malignancies were approximately the same in both arms, Ansell adds.

What was different in the arms were the type of secondary hematological malignancies observed, with T- and B-cell lymphomas being common among patients who received ABVD and less common in those who received brentuximab videoton plus ABVD chemotherapy, Ansell explains. This suggests that the CD30-targeted antibody-drug conjugate may hit a precursor cell that prevents subsequent lymphomas from developing, Ansell says. Overall, these data demonstrate the advantage of adding a novel targeted agent to an AVD backbone, Ansell concludes.