Outcomes of anti-programmed death 1 treatment for relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma: A German Hodgkin Study Group multicentre real-world analysis

Multi‑omics approach to improve patient‑tailored therapy using immune checkpoint blockade and cytokine‑induced killer cell infusion in an elderly patient with lung cancer: A case report and literature review

The 5-year survival rate of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains low, despite recent advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Therefore, there is a need to identify alternative strategies to improve treatment outcomes. Modern diagnostics can significantly facilitate the selection of treatment plans to improve patient outcomes. In the present study, multi-form diagnostic methodologies were adopted, including next-generation sequencing-based actionable gene sequencing, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry, a circulating tumor cell (CTC) assay, flow cytometric analysis of lymphocyte subsets and computed tomography, to improve disease management in an 86-year-old female patient with relapsed metastatic NSCLC. High expression of PD-L1, elevated CTC tmutations, were observed. Based on these results, the patient was initially treated with the programmed death protein 1 blocking antibody sintilimab for two cycles, resulting in the stabilization of their condition, although the patient still exhibited severe pain and other symptoms, including fatigue, malaise, a loss of appetite and poor mental state. Informed by dynamic monitoring of the patient's response to treatment, the treatment plan was subsequently adjusted to a combination therapy with sintilimab and autologous cytokine-induced killer cell infusion, which eventually led to improved outcomes in both the management of the cancer and quality of life. In conclusion, multi-omics analysis may be used to establish patient-tailored therapies to improve clinical outcomes in hard-to-treat elderly patients with metastatic NSCLC.

Long-term survival benefit of anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma

Anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) therapies have shown a favorable efficacy and good tolerance for relapsed or refractory (r/r) classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). However, there are limited data on long-term outcomes among patients with r/r cHL who achieve an objective response to anti-PD-1 therapies. A total of 260 responders from four, phase 2 clinical trials were included in this study. The median age was 32 years with a male/female ratio of 1.3:1. After a median follow-up period of 31.1 months, 116 (44.6%) responders experienced disease progression and 18 (6.9%) died. The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 55.1% and 89.7% overall. Patients with partial remission (PR) had inferior outcomes compared with those who achieved complete remission (3-year PFS, 29.5% vs. 72.3%, P < 0.001; 3-year OS, 81.5% vs. 94.4%, P = 0.017). Moreover, the survival outcome was inferior for patients with refractory disease compared with those with relapsed disease. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed PR and refractory disease were independent risk factors for PFS. In conclusion, PR and refractory disease have a negative impact on the survival benefit of anti-PD-1 therapeutics in patients with r/r cHL, which highlights the need for multimodal treatment strategies.

Sequencing novel agents in the treatment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma

INTRODUCTION

Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) is a curable disease, with durable remission achieved in about 80% of patients following first-line treatment. Three new drugs were introduced to the daily use in cHL: brentuximab vedotin (BV), nivolumab, and pembrolizumab. All three drugs were initially approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory cHL (RRHL) and with their promising outcomes, they are now incorporated in different stages of the treatment.

AREAS COVERED

We performed a literature search using PubMed on all cHL studies investigating BV and CPIs within the past 10 years. We analyzed literature to presume the sequencing of these novel agents.

EXPERT OPINION

Addition of BV or nivolumab to AVD backbone in the frontline setting showed promising activity in advanced stage cHL. BV and CPIs combined with chemotherapy in the second-line treatment of cHL are evaluated in phase 2 studies and comparable results are reported. The results of BrECADD, with good efficacy and toxicity profile, should be followed. Pembrolizumab was shown to be more effective in RRHL compared to BV in patients who have relapsed post-ASCT or ineligible for ASCT. BV is used in post-ASCT maintenance in high-risk cases, although its role will be questioned as it is increasingly used in the frontline treatment.

A real-world analysis of PD1 blockade from the Rete Ematologica Pugliese (REP) in patients with relapse/refractory Hodgkin's lymphoma

Checkpoint inhibitors have significantly changed the prognosis of patients with relapsing refractory classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL), demonstrating excellent results in heavily pretreated patients. However, there is still limited data on the real-world experience with PD-1 inhibitors in cHL. Within the context of the Apulian hematological network (Rete Ematologica Pugliese, REP), we performed a retrospective, multicenter analysis of 66 patients with relapsing refractory cHL who had received PD-1 inhibitors in the non-trial setting. Forty-three patients (65%) were treated with nivolumab and 23 (35%) with pembrolizumab. Thirty-one (47%) and 8 (12%) patients underwent autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation prior to checkpoint inhibitor therapy, respectively. The median number of lines of treatment attempted prior to PD-1 inhibitor therapy was 4 (range, 3 to 7). All patients had received brentuximab vedotin prior to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The overall response rate to PD-1 inhibitors therapy was 70% (47% complete remission (CR) and 23% partial remission (PR)). Twenty-four immune-related adverse events (19 (80%) grades 1-2; 5 (20%) grades 3-4) were documented (4 gastrointestinal, 4 hepatic, 6 fever, 4 hematological, 3 dermatological, 3 allergic rhinitis). Toxicity resolved in all patients, and there were no deaths attributed to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. After a median follow-up of 26 months (range 3-72 months), 54 patients (82%) are alive, and 12 (18%) died. The cause of death was attributed to disease progression in 9 patients and sepsis in 3 patients. After PD-1 inhibitor therapy, 22 patients (33%) relapsed or progressed. The overall survival and progression-free survival at 5 years were 65% and 54%, respectively. This study confirms the efficacy and tolerability of PD-1 inhibitor therapy in relapsed refractory cHL in a real-world setting, demonstrating similar clinical outcomes and toxicity profiles compared to clinical studies.

Filling the Gap: The Immune Therapeutic Armamentarium for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Despite years of clinical progress which made Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) one of the most curable malignancies with conventional chemotherapy, refractoriness and recurrence may still affect up to 20–30% of patients. The revolution brought by the advent of immunotherapy in all kinds of neoplastic disorders is more than evident in this disease because anti-CD30 antibodies and checkpoint inhibitors have been able to rescue patients previously remaining without therapeutic options. Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation still represents a significant step in the treatment algorithm for chemosensitive HL; however, the possibility to induce complete responses after allogeneic transplant procedures in patients receiving reduced-intensity conditioning regimens informs on its sensitivity to immunological control. Furthermore, the investigational application of adoptive T cell transfer therapies paves the way for future indications in this setting. Here, we seek to provide a fresh and up-to-date overview of the new immunotherapeutic agents dominating the scene of relapsed/refractory HL. In this optic, we will also review all the potential molecular mechanisms of tumor resistance, theoretically responsible for treatment failures, and we will discuss the place of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in the era of novel therapies.