Latest lymphoma news from ASCO

• We have previously written about the results of the Echelon-1 study in people with advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma. Long-term results presented at ASCO confirmed that replacing the bleomycin (B) component of ABVD with brentuximab vedotin resulted in durable benefits after 3 years of follow-up.
• The SMART START trial found that two cycles of targeted treatment with rituximab, lenalidomide and ibrutinib followed by six cycles of standard chemo-immunotherapy was highly effective for people with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that did not develop from germinal centre B-cells (non-GCB DLBCL). Future research is planned to study the effect of more cycles of targeted treatment with less chemotherapy.
• Another study in people with DLBCL who had not received previous treatment found that adding the checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab to R-CHOP treatment (with or without lenalidomide) produced encouraging response rates in people with high-risk DLBCL, including people with double-hit lymphoma.
• Preliminary results from the UNITY-NHL trial showed that umbralisib, a cell signal blocker, was safe and effective in people with marginal zone lymphoma (MALT lymphoma, nodal marginal zone lymphoma or splenic marginal zone lymphoma) that had not responded to treatment or had come back after previous treatment.
• A phase 2 study in people with previously untreated hairy cell leukaemia found that adding rituximab to standard cladribine treatment up-front was more effective than saving rituximab for the first sign of relapse using a measure called ‘minimal residual disease’ (MRD). Significantly more people responded to concurrent treatment with rituximab plus cladribine and the response was more durable. Longer-term follow-up is ongoing.

To find out more about clinical trials for lymphoma, or to search for a trial that might be suitable for you, visit Lymphoma TrialsLink.

08 July 2019