Dr. Yasenchak on Brentuximb Vedotin Plus Nivolumab in Hodgkin Lymphoma

Christopher A. Yasenchak, MD, associate chair of Hematology Research, Willamette Valley Cancer Institute and Research Center/US Oncology Research, discusses brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

The phase II study treated patients ≥60 years old who are ineligible or declined from conventional therapy. Patients also could not have had received prior therapy. The frontline study treated patients with a combination of brentuximab vedotin and nivolumab every 3 weeks up to 16 cycles.

Based on the 18 evaluable subjects, the overall response rate was 100%, with a 72% complete response rate. The data from the study suggests that brentuximab vedotin in combination with nivolumab is a promising treatment for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and it appears well tolerated in the patients who participated in the trial.