A recent study of the investigational drug brentuximab vedotin showed promising results among patients with relapsed Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to Robert Chen, M.D., assistant professor of hematology and hematopoietic cell transplantation. Chen presented the findings at the 52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 5.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. (Image courtesy National Cancer Institute)

In the international, multicenter study, brentuximab shrank tumors in 94 percent of trial participants whose lymphoma relapsed after standard therapies. About 75 percent of participants achieved “objective response” by the end of the trial — meaning their tumors fully or partially shrank according to specific, rigorous criteria.

Physicians saw complete remission in 34 percent of participants.

“Nearly 30 percent of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma will relapse, and there currently is no FDA-approved treatment for relapsed disease,” said Chen, Tim Nesvig Lymphoma Research Fellow at City of Hope. “This study shows that brentuximab potentially could change the treatment model for relapsed or refractory lymphoma patients.”

Patients with Hodgkin’s lymphoma carry what are called Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells, abnormal cells that express the protein CD30. Brentuximab specifically targets CD30, binding to it and prompting the cancerous cells to kill themselves.

The trial enrolled 102 Hodgkin’s lymphoma patients in 26 study centers; all had received autologous hematopoietic cell transplants. Patients received a 30-minute outpatient infusion of the drug every three weeks.

The most commonly reported side effects were peripheral sensory neuropathy (numbness, tingling or pain), fatigue, neutropenia (low levels of white blood cells) and diarrhea.

“The concept of this drug is novel — using the antibody to target chemotherapy to the lymphoma cells only,” said Chen. “It makes it very potent with low side effects.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that 8,490 new cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma will be diagnosed and 1,320 people will die from the disease in the U.S. this year. Standard treatment options for Hodgkin’s lymphoma include chemotherapy, radiation and hematopoietic cell transplantation.

The study was supported by Seattle Genetics Inc. and Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, the drug’s developers.