Ramon Garcia-Sanz, MD, PhD, clinician, department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, discusses combination chemotherapy in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

Although most cases of HL are curable, there are 20% to 30% of patients who will not be cured after first-line therapy. Salvage chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) are the next steps for these patients, says Garcia-Sanz. Of those patients, around 70% will not achieve a complete response (CR), indicating a need for therapies in this setting.

In a study of patients with relapsed/refractory HL, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus ESHAP (etoposide, methylprednisolone, cytarabine, and cisplatin) was shown to be safe and effective in remission induction prior to ASCT. Of 66 patients on the study, 60 achieved a sufficient response and moved onto transplant, and 71% of patients achieved a CR before transplant. After transplant, the response rate increased from 71% to 83%, translating to a 3-year progression-free survival of 71%.

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Ramon Garcia-Sanz, MD, PhD, clinician, department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, discusses combination chemotherapy in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Dr. Garcia-Sanz on Combination Chemotherapy for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Ramon Garcia-Sanz, MD, PhD, clinician, department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, discusses the results of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus ESHAP (etoposide, methylprednisolone, cytarabine, and cisplatin) followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

In findings presented at the 2018 European Hematology Association congress, the combination of brentuximab vedotin and ESHAP showed to be safe and effective in this patient population. Investigators aimed to evaluate the long-term results of this combination as second-line therapy prior to ASCT. Garcia-Sanz reports that 71% of patients achieved a complete response before transplantation. Of 66 patients on the study, 60 achieved a sufficient response and moved onto transplant.

The response rate increased from 71% to 83% after transplantation, which translated into a 3-year progression-free survival of 71% and time to treatment failure of 75%. Additionally, overall survival was 91% at 2.5 years. Investigators concluded that this combination is a highly effective regimen for remission induction for patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma prior to transplant.

Ramon Garcia-Sanz, MD, PhD, clinician, department of Hematology, Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, discusses the results of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus ESHAP followed by autologous stem cell transplant in patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.
 

Ramon Garcia-Sanz, MD, PhD

Articles

Dr. Garcia-Sanz on Combination Chemotherapy for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Dr. Garcia-Sanz on Brentuximab Vedotin Plus ESHAP in Hodgkin Lymphoma