Dr. Goy on Approved Agents in the Treatment Landcsape of MCL

Andre Goy, MD, MS, chairman and director, chief of Lymphoma, and director of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research at John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses novel agents approved for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The first novel agent approved by the FDA was bortezomib (Velcade), which was investigated in a large randomized clinical trial in the frontline setting in transplant ineligible patients. The results of that trial showed a 60% improvement in progression-free survival and a significant improvement in complete response for patients treated with bortezomib. Since then, the agent has been explored in various combination regimens.

The second novel therapy to be granted FDA approval was lenalidomide (Revlimid). According to Goy, this approval was based on large phase II trial in which heavily pretreated patients achieved a response rate of 33% with 8% complete response when treated with lenalidomide.

Goy also discusses a trial in which patients treated with a combination of lenalidomide and rituximab (Rituxan) in a relapsed setting achieved response rates close to 60%, with a durable 40% complete response.

The third drug approved for patients with MCL was ibrutinib (Imbruvica), which also achieved favorable results in the context of relapsed/refractory patients. THe response rate was 68%, with a 21% complete response, and a median duration of about 17 months, explains Goy.

Overall, these novel drugs, and their numerous combinations, are rapidly changing the treatment paradigm of MCL and offering these patients a promising future.