Dr. Cohen on the Evolution of Antibodies in Lymphoma

Jonathon B. Cohen, MD, assistant professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Winship Cancer Institute, discusses the evolution of antibodies for the treatment of patients with lymphoma.

Hematologic oncologists have been utilizing antibodies like rituximab (Rituxan) for the management of patients with lymphoma for the last 20 years, Cohen says. For a while, there was a major focus on CD20 antibodies. Over the last few years, there has been intriguing research looking at new targets, as well as combining antibodies with chemotherapy through antibody-drug conjugates (ADC). Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) is FDA approved for patients with relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma and is also used in choice T-cell lymphoma subtypes, Cohen says.

Another emerging ADC in the lymphoma landscape is polatuzumab vedotin, which was discussed at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. This targets CD79B, which is a common target in B-cell malignancies. This agent has shown promise in particularly aggressive subtypes of non—Hodgkin lymphoma.