CHOP remains standard treatment for T-cell lymphoma
Published on: 16 June 2017New approaches are needed for the treatment of people with T-cell lymphoma after disappointing results in the CHEMO-T trial.
CHOP chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and vincristine chemotherapy with the steroid prednisolone) is the standard treatment for T-cell lymphoma. However, some people do not respond well to CHOP and alternative treatments are needed.
The phase 2 CHEMO-T trial tested whether the chemotherapy regimen GEM-P (gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy with the steroid methylprednisolone) was better than CHOP as a first treatment for T-cell lymphoma. A total of 87 people were recruited with several different types of T-cell lymphoma.
The trial closed early as the results showed that GEM-P did not significantly improve outcomes. CHOP remains the standard treatment for T-cell lymphoma. Clinical trials continue to test new approaches to improve outcomes for people with T-cell lymphoma. Search our database to find a clinical trial that might be suitable for you.
Results of CHEMO-T were presented at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma in June 2017.
The results are very disappointing for our patients with T-Cell lymphoma because we hoped GEM-P would be superior to CHOP. However, we plan to analyse the tissue and blood of patients in the trial for genomic changes which may shed further light on the biology of this disease and help the development of biomarkers for treatment response.
Professor Cunningham also wanted to acknowledge the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity and Bloodwise who provided financial support for this trial and most importantly the patients and their families.
For the future, he hopes that antibodies such as brentuximab which specifically target antigens on the tumour T-cells and advances in immunotherapy with the checkpoint antibodies such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab will lead to improved outcomes.