Checkpoint Inhibitors Show High Response in Hard-to-Treat Lymphoma | Vincent Camus, MD, PhD

Hi, my name is Vincent Camus. I am a hematologist at the Henri Becquerel Cancer Center in Rouen, France, and a member of the LYSA cooperative group.

This year at ASH, I presented results from a retrospective, multicenter study focusing on patients with primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. We assessed outcomes for patients who were relapsed or refractory and received anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors in a real-world setting.

The study included 20 LYSA centers in France over an 11-year period, collecting data from 100 patients. Half of the patients received anti-PD1 plus brentuximab vedotin based on the CheckMate study design, 40% received anti-PD1 as a single agent, and 10% received anti-PD1 plus chemotherapy.

Overall, the results were very encouraging. We observed a two-year progression-free survival of 55% and a two-year overall survival of 75%. About half of the patients achieved a complete response, with a median time to response of three months. Among this subset of complete responders, less than 6% experienced relapse.

We also collected safety data, and no new safety signals were observed compared to pivotal clinical trials for these drugs.

In summary, the benefit-risk profile of anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors, either alone or in combination with brentuximab vedotin, is very favorable. This is particularly important in France and Europe, where these drugs are used in a broader label setting due to the rarity of this lymphoma and the lack of randomized phase three trials.

Anti-PD1 antibodies appear effective with a good safety profile and may be a strong option for patients in the relapsed setting, including those who are unfit for CAR-T cell therapy or after CAR-T therapy.

Next steps include analyzing consolidation treatments such as radiotherapy or CAR-T therapy for patients receiving anti-PD1 therapy, as well as developing biological programs to better understand biomarkers driving response. This is ongoing work, and we look forward to sharing further results.

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