Dr. Leslie on Phase 1b Trial of Tazemetostat Plus Lenalidomide/Rituximab in Follicular Lymphoma

Lori A. Leslie, MD, lymphoma attending, John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses a phase 1b study with tazemetostat (Tazverik) plus lenalidomide (Revlimid) and rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with follicular lymphoma.

There is a study that is currently ongoing looking at the addition of the EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat to lenalidomide plus rituximab, or the R2 regimen, says Leslie. The initial phase 1b portion is examining R2 plus tazemetostat and this will likely expand into a phase 3 trial of R2 plus or minus tazemetostat. This study is in patients who have received at least 1 prior line of therapy; however, the prior line can be rituximab monotherapy, says Leslie.

In many of the relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma studies that have been done, in order to be considered to have relapsed, the patient had to have had prior exposure to a CD20 antibody, as well as an alkylating agent, explains Leslie. Although this trial is being done in the relapsed/refractory setting, this is a patient population that could potentially have only been exposed to a CD20 antibody. Having a chemotherapy-free approach available early in the landscape of follicular lymphoma is very appealing, according to Leslie. The study is open at many centers and the results from this research are highly anticipated, concludes Leslie.