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Patients with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma had impressive response rates when treated with a novel combination of therapies—brentuximab vedotin and nivolumab combined with chemotherapy drugs doxorubicin and dacarbazine—according to a study. "By pairing modern targeted therapies with a shorter course of chemotherapy, we're seeing strong outcomes that improve historical standards and reduce treatment intensity," said senior author Hun Ju Lee, M.D., associate professor of lymphoma. A total of 154 patients were treated with the novel combination on this trial. Some 96% of patients had some level of response to treatment, and 92% had a complete response with no signs of cancer...

A Phase 3 trial has demonstrated that patients with advanced stage (3 or 4) classic Hodgkin lymphoma who underwent initial treatment with nivolumab, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, and AVD chemotherapy (N-AVD) had a significantly lower risk of their cancer getting worse than patients treated with brentuximab vedotin, a monoclonal antibody, and AVD (BV-AVD) a year after starting treatment. Ninety-four percent of adolescent and adult patients in the N-AVD group had progression-free survival compared with 86% in the BV-AVD arm. N-AVD was also well-tolerated. "The results are remarkable," said Herrera. Patients with Stage 3 or 4 classic Hodgkin lymphoma who had...