Survivors’ perspectives on risks and benefits of Hodgkin lymphoma treatment: results of a survey by the German Hodgkin Study Group

Assessing the efficacy and tolerability of PET-guided BrECADD versus eBEACOPP in advanced-stage, classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HD21): a randomised, multicentre, parallel, open-label, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND

Intensified systemic chemotherapy has the highest primary cure rate for advanced-stage, classical Hodgkin lymphoma but this comes with a cost of severe and potentially life long, persisting toxicities. With the new regimen of brentuximab vedotin, etoposide, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, dacarbazine, and dexamethasone (BrECADD), we aimed to improve the risk-to-benefit ratio of treatment of advanced-stage, classical Hodgkin lymphoma guided by PET after two cycles.

METHODS

This randomised, multicentre, parallel, open-label, phase 3 trial was done in 233 trial sites across nine countries. Eligible patients were adults (aged ≤60 years) with newly diagnosed, advanced-stage, classical Hodgkin lymphoma (ie, Ann Arbor stage III/IV, stage II with B symptoms, and either one or both risk factors of large mediastinal mass and extranodal lesions). Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to four or six cycles (21-day intervals) of escalated doses of etoposide (200 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1-3), doxorubicin (35 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1), and cyclophosphamide (1250 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1), and standard doses of bleomycin (10 mg/m2 intravenously on day 8), vincristine (1·4 mg/m2 intravenously on day 8), procarbazine (100 mg/m2 orally on days 1-7), and prednisone (40 mg/m2 orally on days 1-14; eBEACOPP) or BrECADD, guided by PET after two cycles. Patients and investigators were not masked to treatment assignment. Hierarchical coprimary objectives were to show (1) improved tolerability defined by treatment-related morbidity and (2) non-inferior efficacy defined by progression-free survival with an absolute non-inferiority margin of 6 percentage points of BrECADD compared with eBEACOPP. An additional test of superiority of progression-free survival was to be done if non-inferiority had been established. Analyses were done by intention to treat; the treatment-related morbidity assessment required documentation of at least one chemotherapy cycle. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02661503).

FINDINGS

Between July 22, 2016, and Aug 27, 2020, 1500 patients were enrolled, of whom 749 were randomly assigned to BrECADD and 751 to eBEACOPP. 1482 patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The median age of patients was 31 years (IQR 24-42). 838 (56%) of 1482 patients were male and 644 (44%) were female. Most patients were White (1352 [91%] of 1482). Treatment-related morbidity was significantly lower with BrECADD (312 [42%] of 738 patients) than with eBEACOPP (430 [59%] of 732 patients; relative risk 0·72 [95% CI 0·65-0·80]; p<0·0001). At a median follow-up of 48 months, BrECADD improved progression-free survival with a hazard ratio of 0·66 (0·45-0·97; p=0·035); 4-year progression-free survival estimates were 94·3% (95% CI 92·6-96·1) for BrECADD and 90·9% (88·7-93·1) for eBEACOPP. 4-year overall survival rates were 98·6% (97·7-99·5) and 98·2% (97·2-99·3), respectively.

INTERPRETATION

BrECADD guided by PET after two cycles is better tolerated and more effective than eBEACOPP in first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced-stage, classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

FUNDING

Takeda Oncology.

Current perspectives on the management of refractory or relapsed classic hodgkin lymphoma in brazil: Balancing efficacy, safety, and tolerability

Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL), which accounts for 90-95% of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma, is the most frequent cancer in adolescents and the most frequent lymphoma in adolescents and young adults. Despite progressive improvements over past decades and the general sensitivity of CHL to frontline chemotherapy, approximately 10-15% of patients have refractory disease that either does not respond to such therapy or progresses after an initial partial response. In patients with refractory or relapsed disease, standard treatment until recently consisted mainly of salvage chemotherapy, in many cases followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation. However, improved understanding of the pathobiology of CHL, coupled with the introduction of novel agents, has markedly changed the treatment landscape in the past decade. Although refractory or relapsed CHL continues to be challenging, the therapeutic landscape is undergoing profound changes brought about by novel agents, particularly brentuximab vedotin and immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss the most salient treatment options for adult patients with refractory or relapsed CHL, with a special focus on the Brazilian healthcare setting, which is constrained by inherent characteristics of this system. In the attempt to balance efficacy, safety and tolerability, practicing physicians must rely on clinical trials and on results from real-world studies, and use their own point of view and experience, as well as patient characteristics and previous therapy, to make treatment decisions for refractory or relapsed CHL.

Patterns of care and outcomes of early stage I-II Hodgkin lymphoma treated with or without radiation therapy

Omission of radiotherapy in the upfront management of early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) has become more common with time. We report patterns of care and outcomes of stage I-II cHL treated with chemotherapy (CT) only versus CT and radiotherapy (combined modality therapy, CMT). From the National Cancer Database, we identified 28,327 early-stage cHL patients treated with CT (n = 15,798) or CMT (n = 12,529) from 2004 to 2018. CMT utilization declined over the period from 58% to 34%. With median follow-up of 6.2 years, the 5- and 10-year overall survival for CT versus CMT was 93.3% versus 96.9% (p < 0.001) and 88.7% versus 93.5% (p < 0.001), respectively. On multivariable analysis, uninsured (OR 0.75, p < 0.001) and Black patients (OR 0.86, p = 0.02) were less likely to receive CMT, and treatment with CT was predictive of death (OR 2.0, p < 0.001). This report highlights real-world outcomes in early-stage cHL, with worse survival with CT and notable disparities in CMT utilization.

A systematic literature review of the epidemiology, quality of life, and economic burden, including disease pathways and treatment patterns of relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma

INTRODUCTION

A systematic literature review was conducted to understand disease burden in patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (R/R cHL).

AREAS COVERED

Embase®, PubMed®, and Cochrane were searched for records from 2001 to 2020 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A total of 13,257 abstracts and 1731 papers were screened; 144 studies were identified. cHL accounted for 0.5% of all cancers, with 4‒66.7% of cases progressing to R/R disease (studies with >500 patients); this range varied across countries. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed via EORTC-QLQ-C30 (n = 7), EQ-5D (n = 5), SF-36 (n = 3), FACIT-F (n = 1), and MFI (n = 1) questionnaires. In general, pembrolizumab and other programmed cell death protein-1 inhibitors improved QoL scores. Brentuximab vedotin showed mixed outcomes, and high-dose therapy (HDT) and autologous stem-cell rescue (ASCR) showed worsening functionality/symptoms. Economic burden studies (n = 21) reported increased costs and health care resource in R/R cHL. Across clinical guidelines (n = 13) and treatment pattern studies (n = 46), HDT followed by ASCR was recommended as initial R/R cHL treatment. Pembrolizumab and nivolumab were frequently recommended for patients relapsing following HDT/ASCR.

EXPERT OPINION

Despite recent treatment advances, patients with R/R cHL continue to report reduced quality of life. Unmet medical needs remain, particularly with respect to slowing disease progression and identifying the best treatment approaches for improving longer-term survival and quality of life. This systematic literature review provides an extensive overview of the current landscape in patients with R/R cHL, focusing on four key areas: epidemiology, QoL, economic burden, and disease management. These findings will be useful to those with an interest in managing patients with R/R cHL or in designing future studies.

Informing radiotherapy decisions in stage I/IIa Hodgkin lymphoma: modeling life expectancy using radiation dosimetry

In recent randomized trials, omitting consolidative radiotherapy (RT) in early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (ESHL) increased relapses. However, decades of follow-up are required to observe whether lower initial disease control is compensated by reduced risk of late effects. Extrapolation beyond trial follow-up is therefore necessary to inform current treatment decisions. To this end, we developed a microsimulation model to estimate lifetime quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) after combined modality treatment (CMT) or chemotherapy-alone for stage I/IIa ESHL. For CMT, the model included risks of breast and lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke. Comparative outcomes were assessed for a clinically relevant range of example patients differing by age, sex, smoking status, and representative organs at risk (OAR) radiation doses informed by the RAPID trial. Analysis was performed with and without a 3.5% discount rate on future health. Smoking status had a large effect on optimal treatment choice. CMT was superior for nearly all never smoker example patients regardless of age, sex, and OAR doses. At a maximum, CMT produced a 1.095 (95% CI: 1.054-1.137) gain in undiscounted QALYs for a 20-year-old male never smoker with unilateral neck disease. In contrast, current smokers could substantially gain from chemotherapy-alone treatment. Again at a maximum, a 20-year-old male current smoker with bilateral neck and whole mediastinum involvement gained 3.500 (95% CI: 3.400 to 3.600) undiscounted QALYs with chemotherapy-alone treatment. Overall, CMT was more favorable the younger the patient, when future health discounting was included, and in never smokers.

Hodgkin lymphoma survivor perspectives on their engagement in treatment decision-making and discussion of late effects

BACKGROUND

Hodgkin lymphoma has a bimodal age distribution with the first peak occurring within young adulthood and the second, among older adults. Although current therapy provides excellent disease control, survivors are at risk of developing treatment-related late effects (LEs). We sought to understand how survivors in active survivorship care perceived their role in treatment decision-making and when they acquired an understanding of LEs.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted until saturation was reached. Themes were identified through direct content analysis and consensus coding by a multidisciplinary team of coders, including hematology/oncology providers, patient navigators, and survivor stakeholders.

RESULTS

Seventeen interviews were conducted. Role in initial treatment decision-making fluctuated between passive and active engagement with providers identified as being crucial to this process. Half of interviewees (53%) expressed unmet information needs. Survivors reported having learned about LEs at multiple time points, spanning from before treatment commenced through when a LE was diagnosed. The majority (71%) expressed a desire to have learned about LEs before initial treatment ended. The impact of cancer and fertility discussions were also disclosed.

DISCUSSION

Participants highlighted the importance of discussions on LEs early in the care continuum. These preliminary data will be incorporated in a planned treatment decision-making tool that incorporates information on potential LEs.

IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS

Patient-centered communication approaches should be embraced to assist in treatment decision-making, while considering long-term health consequences. Survivors must be educated on their risk of LEs and encouraged to disclose their perspectives and preferences with their providers to optimize outcomes.

PET-guided eBEACOPP treatment of advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (HD18): follow-up analysis of an international, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND

The German Hodgkin Study Group's HD18 trial established the safety and efficacy of PET-guided eBEACOPP (bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone in escalated doses) for the treatment of advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma. However, because of a protocol amendment during the enrolment period (June 1, 2011) that changed standard treatment from eight to six cycles, the results of the HD18 trial have been partially immature. We report a prespecified 5-year follow-up analysis of the completed HD18 trial.

METHODS

HD18 was an international, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial done in 301 hospitals and private practices in five European countries. Patients aged 18-60 years with newly diagnosed, advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2 were recruited. After receiving an initial two cycles of eBEACOPP (1250 mg/m² intravenous cyclophosphamide [day 1], 35 mg/m² intravenous doxorubicin [day 1], 200 mg/m² intravenous etoposide [day 1-3], 100 mg/m² oral procarbazine [day 1-7], 40 mg/m² oral prednisone [day 1-14], 1·4 mg/m² intravenous vincristine [day 8], and 10 mg/m² intravenous bleomycin [day 8]), patients underwent a contrast-enhanced CT and PET scan (PET-2). Patients with positive PET-2 were randomly assigned to receive standard therapy (an additional six cycles of eBEACOPP; ie, eight cycles in total) or experimental therapy (an additional six cycles of eBEACOPP plus 375 mg/m² intravenous rituximab; ie, eight cycles in total) until June 1, 2011. After June 1, 2011, all patients with positive PET-2 were assigned to the updated standard therapy with an additional four cycles of eBEACOPP (ie, six cycles in total). Patients with negative PET-2 were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive standard therapy (an additional six cycles of eBEACOPP [ie, eight cycles in total] until June 1, 2011; an additional four cycles of eBEACOPP [ie, six cycles in total] after June 1, 2011) or experimental therapy (an additional two cycles of eBEACOPP; ie, four cycles in total). Randomisation was done centrally with the minimisation method, including a random component, stratified by centre, age, stage, international prognostic score, and sex. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. HD18 aimed to improve 5-year progression-free survival by 15% in the PET-2-positive intention-to-treat cohort and to exclude inferiority of 6% or more in 5-year progression-free survival in the PET-2-negative per-protocol population. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00515554, and is completed.

FINDINGS

Between May 14, 2008, and July 18, 2014, 2101 patients were enrolled and 1945 were assigned to a treatment group according to their PET-2 result. In the PET-2-positive cohort, with a median follow-up of 73 months (IQR 59 to 94), 5-year progression-free survival was 89·9% (95% CI 85·7 to 94·1) in 217 patients assigned to eight cycles of eBEACOPP before the protocol amendment and 87·7% (83·1 to 92·4) in 217 patients assigned to eight cycles of rituximab plus eBEACOPP (p=0·40). Among 506 patients who received six cycles of eBEACOPP after the protocol amendment, 5-year progression-free survival was 90·1% (95% CI 87·2 to 92·9), with a median follow-up of 58 months (IQR 39 to 66). In the PET-2-negative cohort, with a median follow-up of 66 months (IQR 54 to 85) in the combined pre-amendment and post-amendment groups, 5-year progression-free survival was 91·2% (95% CI 88·4 to 93·9) in 446 patients who received eight or six cycles of eBEACOPP and 93·0% (90·6 to 95·4) in 474 patients who received four cycles of eBEACOPP (difference 1·9% [95% CI -1·8 to 5·5]). In the subgroup of PET-2-negative patients randomly assigned after protocol amendment, 5-year progression-free survival was 90·9% (95% CI 86·8 to 95·1) in 202 patients assigned to receive six cycles of eBEACOPP and 91·0% (86·6 to 95·5) in 200 patients assigned to receive four cycles of eBEACOPP (difference 0·1% [-5·9 to 6·2]).

INTERPRETATION

Long-term follow-up confirms the efficacy and safety of PET-2-guided eBEACOPP in patients with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma. The reduction from eight to four cycles of eBEACOPP represents a benchmark in the treatment of early-responding patients, who can now be potentially cured with a short and safe treatment approach.

FUNDING

Deutsche Krebshilfe, Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI (Switzerland), and Roche Pharma.

TRANSLATION

For the German translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

The impact of modern radiotherapy on radiation-induced late sequelae: Focus on early-stage mediastinal classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. A critical review by the Young Group of the Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO)

INTRODUCTION

The historically feared radiation-induced secondary cancers and cardiac toxicities observed among mediastinal classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL) patients may still negatively burden the benefit of radiotherapy among long-term survivors. Modern radiotherapy (RT) delivery techniques, including intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) and deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) solutions, are drastically changing this scenario. Results of a literature overview are reported and discussed in this paper.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Key references were derived from a PubMed query. Hand searching and clinicaltrials.gov were also used.

RESULTS

This paper contains a narrative report and a critical discussion of organs-at-risk dose-volume metrics linked with radiation-induced toxicities in cHL patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The scenario of early-stage cHL presents long-life expectancies, thus the goal of treatment should aim at maintaining high cure rates and limiting the onset of late complications. Further evaluations of dosimetric measures and clinical outcomes are warranted to identify patients at higher risk to target treatment tailoring.

Intensified treatment of patients with early stage, unfavourable Hodgkin lymphoma: long-term follow-up of a randomised, international phase 3 trial of the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG HD14)

BACKGROUND

To improve the long-term tumour control in early, unfavourable Hodgkin Lymphoma, the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) HD14 trial compared four cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) with an intensified chemotherapy regimen consisting of two cycles of escalated bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (escalated BEACOPP) plus two cycles of ABVD. The final analysis of the trial showed a significant advantage in terms of freedom from treatment failure (difference 7·2% [95% CI 3·8-10·5] at 5 years) for patients who received two cycles of escalated BEACOPP and two cycles of ABVD. However, there was no difference in overall survival between the two groups. To evaluate long-term efficacy and toxicity of this strategy, we did a follow-up analysis.

METHODS

Patients aged 18-60 years with performance status of 2 or less and primary diagnosis of early, unfavourable Hodgkin lymphoma (all histologies) were included in an international, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Patients were randomly assigned to receive four cycles of ABVD (ABVD group) or two cycles of escalated BEACOPP and two cycles of ABVD (2 + 2 group), both groups also received 30 Gy involved field radiotherapy. The ABVD dosing regimen was doxorubicin 25 mg/m² (days 1 and 15), bleomycin 10 mg/m² (days 1 and 15), vinblastine 6 mg/m² (days 1 and 15), and dacarbazine 375 mg/m² (days 1 and 15), repeated on day 29. The escalated BEACOPP dosing regimen was cyclophosphamide 1250 mg/m² (day 1), doxorubicin 35 mg/m² (day 1), etoposide 200 mg/m² (days 1-3), procarbazine 100 mg/m² (days 1-7), prednisone 40 mg/m² (days 1-14), vincristine 1·4 mg/m² (day 8; maximum 2 mg), and bleomycin 10 mg/m² (day 8), repeated on day 22. After closure of the ABVD group according to prespecified rules, patients were assigned to receive two cycles of escalated BEACOPP and two cycles of ABVD (non-randomised 2 + 2 group), which continued until the end of the predefined 5-year recruitment period. In this prespecified long-term follow-up analysis, we aimed to evaluate the secondary endpoints progression-free survival, overall survival, and long-term toxicity. To this end, we did a descriptive intention-to-treat analysis of all qualified HD14 patients and on the predefined subsets of randomised qualified HD14 patients and patients in the non-randomised 2 + 2 group. The trial was registered on the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial database, 04761296.

FINDINGS

Between Jan 28, 2003, and Dec 29, 2009, 1686 patients were randomly assigned to the ABVD group (847 [50·2%] patients) and the 2 + 2 group (839 [49·8%] patients). 370 additional patients were recruited to the non-randomised 2 + 2 group. 1550 (92%) randomly assigned patients (median observation time 112 months [IQR 80-132]) and 339 (92%) patients in the non-randomised 2 + 2 group (median observation time 74 months [58-100]) were included in the qualified analysis set. 10-year overall survival in the randomly assigned patients was 94·1% (95% CI 92·0-95·7) for the ABVD group and 94·1% (91·8-95·7) for the 2 + 2 group (HR 1·0 [95% CI 0·6-1·5]; p=0·88). 8-year overall survival in the non-randomised 2 + 2 group was 95·1% (95% CI 91·6-97·2). 10-year progression-free survival in the randomly assigned patients was 85·6% (95% CI 82·6-88·1) for the ABVD group and 91·2% (88·4-93·3) for the 2 + 2 group (HR 0·5% [95% CI 0·4-0·7]; p=0·0001), accounting for a significant difference of 5·6% (95% CI 1·9-9·2) favouring the 2 + 2 group (p=0·0001). In the non-randomised 2 + 2 group, 8-year progression-free survival was 94·5% (95% CI 91·1-96·6). Standardised incidence ratios of second primary malignancies were similar between the ABVD group (2·3 [95% CI 1·6-3·1]) and the 2 + 2 group (2·5 [1·8-3·4]; Gray's p=0·80). Standardised incidence ratio of second primary malignancies was 3·1 (95% CI 1·7-5·0) in the non-randomised 2 + 2 group.

INTERPRETATION

This long-term analysis confirms superior tumour control in the 2 + 2 group compared with the ABVD group without translating into an overall survival difference. At longer follow-up, there is no difference regarding second primary malignancies between groups. In conclusion, the 2 + 2 regimen spares a significant number of patients from the burden of relapse and additional treatment without increased long-term toxicity.

FUNDING

Deutsche Krebshilfe eV and Swiss Federal Government.

Efficacy of Nivolumab and AVD in Early-Stage Unfavorable Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma: The Randomized Phase 2 German Hodgkin Study Group NIVAHL Trial

Importance

In early-stage unfavorable classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), conventional therapy induces high cure rates but also relevant acute and long-term toxic effects. Nivolumab is well tolerated and highly effective in relapsed/refractory cHL but has not been adequately studied in first-line treatment of early-stage cHL. The NIVAHL trial evaluated nivolumab in this setting with the aim to develop a highly effective yet tolerable systemic therapy to ultimately mitigate morbidity in patients who survive cHL.

Objective

To evaluate efficacy of 2 experimental nivolumab-based first-line treatment strategies in patients with early-stage unfavorable cHL.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This was an open-label, multicenter, phase 2 randomized clinical trial, open between April 2017 and October 2018. The trial took place at 35 trial centers across Germany, ranging from academic centers to private offices. Eligibility was defined by age 18 to 60 years, cHL confirmed by expert pathology review, early-stage unfavorable disease by German Hodgkin Study Group criteria (stage I to II with risk factor[s]), and absence of serious concomitant disease or organ dysfunction. Among 110 enrolled patients, 109 were eligible.

Interventions

Systemic therapy, per random assignment (1:1) to either concomitant treatment with 4 cycles of nivolumab and doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (N-AVD) or sequential treatment with 4 doses of nivolumab, 2 cycles of N-AVD, and 2 cycles of AVD at standard doses, followed by 30-Gy involved-site radiotherapy.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Complete remission (CR) rate after study treatment, aiming at excluding a CR rate of 80% or lower via a 2-sided 95% CI for each treatment group.

Results

Of 109 patients included in this study, 65 (59.6%) were women, and the median (range) age was 27 (18-60) years. At interim staging after 2 cycles of N-AVD or 4 doses of nivolumab monotherapy, 54 of 54 (100%) and 49 of 51 (96%) response-eligible patients, respectively, achieved an objective response, with CR in 47 (87%) and 26 (51%) patients, respectively. Among 101 patients eligible for primary end point analysis, 46 of 51 (90%; 95% CI, 79%-97%) patients receiving concomitant therapy and 47 of 50 (94%; 95% CI, 84%-99%) patients receiving sequential therapy achieved CR after study treatment. With a median follow-up of 13 months, 12-month progression-free survival was 100% for patients receiving concomitant treatment and 98% (95% CI, 95%-100%) for patients receiving sequential therapy.

Conclusions and Relevance

Both strategies combining nivolumab and AVD are feasible and resulted in high remission rates. Despite narrowly missing the efficacy benchmark in the concomitant group, the excellent 12-month progression-free survival and the unexpectedly high CR rate after 4 doses of nivolumab monotherapy warrant further evaluation of this approach in the first-line treatment of patients with early-stage cHL.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03004833.

Patient preferences for first-line treatment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma: a US survey and discrete choice experiment

A cross-sectional online survey, including a discrete choice experiment (DCE), was used to investigate first-line treatment preferences in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) in the United States; 141 patients (median age 35.0 years) participated. In the DCE, risk of progression at 2 years (progression free survival) had the highest relative importance to patients (31.3%) when considering first-line treatments, followed by 2-year overall survival (OS; 26.9%), on-treatment pulmonary toxicity (23.3%), and on-treatment peripheral neuropathy (18.5%). Marginal rate of substitution analyses demonstrated that a 0.44% and 0.09% increase in 2-year OS was required for patients to accept a 1% increase in the risk of disease progression at 2 years and peripheral neuropathy, respectively. A 2.6% increase in 2-year OS was needed to accept a 7% rather than a 2% risk of pulmonary toxicity. In summary, patients with cHL rated survival attributes as more important than drug-related toxicity when considering first-line treatments.

FDG-PET Imaging for Hodgkin and Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma-An Updated Overview

Since the mid-1990s, ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) in combination with computed tomography has come to play a prominent role in the management of malignant lymphomas. One of the first PET applications in oncology was the detection of lymphoma manifestations at staging, where it has shown high sensitivity. Nowadays, this imaging modality is also used during treatment to evaluate the individual chemosensitivity and adapt further therapy accordingly. If the end-of-treatment PET is negative, irradiation in advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma patients can be safely omitted after highly effective chemotherapy. Thus far, lymphoma response assessment has mainly been performed using visual criteria, such as the Deauville five-point scale, which became the international standard in 2014. However, novel measures such as metabolic tumor volume or total lesion glycolysis have recently been recognized by several working groups and may further increase the diagnostic and prognostic value of FDG-PET in the future.

Closing the survivorship gap in children and adolescents with Hodgkin lymphoma

The treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is one of early success. However, disease-free survival (DFS) does not reflect latent organ injury and its impact on health status and well-being beyond 5 years. In fact, we are at a crossroads, in terms of needing individualized approaches to maintain DFS, while minimizing late effects and preserving health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Premature morbidity and mortality translate to a high societal cost associated with the potential number of productive life years ahead in this population who are young at diagnosis. The discordance between short-term lymphoma-free survival and long-term health and HRQoL creates a "survivorship gap" which can be characterized for individuals and for subgroups of patients. The current review delineates contributors to compromised outcomes and health status in child and adolescent (paediatric) HL and frames the survivorship gap in terms of primary and secondary prevention. Primary prevention aims to titrate therapy. Secondary prevention entails strategies to intervene against late effects. Bridging the survivorship gap will be attained with enhanced knowledge of and attention to biology of the tumour and microenvironment, host genetic factors, HRQoL and sub-populations with disparate outcomes.

Positron Emission Tomography-Guided Treatment in Early-Stage Favorable Hodgkin Lymphoma: Final Results of the International, Randomized Phase III HD16 Trial by the German Hodgkin Study Group

PURPOSE

Combined-modality treatment (CMT) with 2× ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) and small-field radiotherapy is standard of care for patients with early-stage favorable Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). However, the role of radiotherapy has been challenged. Positron emission tomography (PET) after 2× ABVD (PET-2) might help to predict individual outcomes and guide treatment.

METHODS

Between November 2009 and December 2015, we recruited patients age 18 to 75 years with newly diagnosed, early-stage favorable HL for this international randomized phase III trial. Patients were assigned to standard CMT of 2× ABVD and 20-Gy involved-field radiotherapy or PET-guided treatment, omitting involved-field radiotherapy after negative PET-2 (Deauville score < 3). Primary objectives were to exclude inferiority of 10% or more in 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) of ABVD alone compared with CMT in a per-protocol analysis among PET-2-negative patients (noninferiority margin for hazard ratio, 3.01) and to confirm PET-2 positivity (Deauville score ≥ 3) as a risk factor for PFS among CMT-treated patients.

RESULTS

We enrolled 1,150 patients. Median follow-up was 45 months. Among 628 PET-2-negative, per-protocol-treated patients, 5-year PFS was 93.4% (95% CI, 90.4% to 96.5%) with CMT and 86.1% (95% CI, 81.4% to 90.9%) with ABVD (difference 7.3% [95% CI, 1.6% to 13.0%]; hazard ratio, 1.78 [95% CI, 1.02 to 3.12]). Five-year overall survival was 98.1% (95% CI, 96.5% to 99.8%) with CMT and 98.4% (95% CI, 96.5% to 100.0%) with ABVD. Among 693 patients who were assigned to CMT, 5-year PFS was 93.2% (95% CI, 90.2% to 96.2%) among PET-2-negative patients and 88.4% (95% CI, 84.2% to 92.6%) in PET-2-positive patients (P = .047). When using the more common liver cutoff (Deauville score, 4) for PET-2 positivity, the difference was more pronounced (5-year PFS, 93.1% [95% CI, 90.7% to 95.5%] v 80.9% [95% CI, 72.2% to 89.7%]; P = .0011).

CONCLUSION

In early-stage favorable HL, a positive PET after two cycles ABVD indicates a high risk for treatment failure, particularly when a Deauville score of 4 is used as a cutoff for positivity. In PET-2-negative patients, radiotherapy cannot be omitted from CMT without clinically relevant loss of tumor control.