Follicular Lymphoma Specialists Share Insights on New Treatments

Follicular lymphoma specialists met today at the 2024 ASH conference to discuss some of the top new treatments. They also evaluated data on therapies that used to be considered the standard of care. The name of the session these topics were discussed in was "Mantle Cell, Follicular, Waldenstrom’s, and Other Indolent B Cell Lymphomas: Clinical and Epidemiological: Novel Treatment Strategies and New Data on Old Standards for Follicular Lymphoma." 

Learn about the treatments discussed below, and stay tuned for additional coverage of these important topics and more on HealthTree’s News page. 

Loncastuximab and Rituximab Support People with Relapsed/Refractory High-Risk Follicular Lymphoma 

Dr. Juan P. Alderuccio shared findings about how a treatment called loncastuximab combined with rituximab helped people with relapsed/refractory high-risk follicular lymphoma achieve remission and supported these patients in maintaining progression-free survival (how long you may live with the cancer without it getting worse). 

How Treating Advanced-Stage Low-Tumor-Burden Follicular Lymphoma with Rituximab Instead of Remaining in Watch and Wait Helps Patients 

The FLORA study led by Dr. Noriko Fukuhara found that early treatment with rituximab for patients with advanced-stage low-tumor-burden follicular lymphoma instead of remaining in “watch and wait” helped patients avoid the cancer getting worse and needing stronger cancer treatments like chemotherapy later on. The study suggests that doctors should consider giving rituximab at the beginning of diagnosis for this type of cancer instead of waiting for cancer symptoms to worsen before starting treatment. 

Impact of MRD Testing with Rituximab Maintenance Therapy 

MRD testing measures the amount of cancer cells left in a blood sample after treatment, and achieving MRD negativity indicates that minimal to no cancer cells were detected. Dr. Simone Ferrero's research, conducted as part of the FOLL12 trial, suggests that regular MRD testing can better evaluate which follicular lymphoma patients might relapse. 

The trial also demonstrated that rituximab maintenance therapy can significantly enhance patient outcomes by reducing the chance of MRD recurrence and maintaining undetectable levels longer, thus delaying the return of cancer symptoms. 

Effects of Using Mosunetuzumab as Follicular Lymphoma Patients’ First Treatment 

The bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab is usually used as a third-line treatment for people with follicular lymphoma. Dr. Lorenzo Falchi’s mithic-FL1 study evaluated mosunetuzumab use for follicular lymphoma patients’ first treatment. 

The research findings showed that patients with high-burden follicular lymphoma treated with mosunetuzumab as their first treatment achieved similar rates of complete remission as those who received chemoimmunotherapy. Most patients who achieved complete remission with mosunetuzumab remained in remission over time. Another finding from the study was that the side effects patients experienced from the bispecific antibody were manageable. 

A New Bispecific Antibody Called AZD0486 for Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma

A new bispecific antibody called AZD0486 was evaluated in a clinical trial led by Dr. Jing-Zhou Hou for people with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma. The study found that after AZD0486 was administered in step-up dosing, it helped a high percentage of patients achieve remission and supported them to remain in remission. 

The study also found that the side effects of AZD0486 were manageable. More research will help review increasing the bispecific antibody’s dose and combining it with other follicular lymphoma treatments. 

Using Epcoritamab + Rituximab + Lenalidomide for R/R Follicular Lymphoma

Dr. Lorenzo Falchi presented two years of follow-up data from the EPCORE NHL-1 study showing that the bispecific antibody epcoritamab in combination with rituximab and lenalidomide helped the majority of people with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma (including high-risk patients) achieve remission and maintain control of the cancer over time. 

Stay Tuned for Additional ASH 2024 Updates 

To stay up to date with more ASH 2024 news, visit our site: HealthTree Conference Coverage.

Sources: 

• Mantle Cell, Follicular, Waldenstrom’s, and Other Indolent B Cell Lymphomas: Clinical and Epidemiological: Novel Treatment Strategies and New Data on Old Standards for Follicular Lymphoma
• Loncastuximab Tesirine with Rituximab Induces Robust and Durable Complete Metabolic Responses in High-Risk Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma
• Randomized Phase III Study of Watchful Waiting Vs. Rituximab As First-Line Treatment in Patients with Advanced Stage Low Tumor Burden Follicular Lymphoma: JCOG1411/Flora Study
• Impact of Minimal Residual Disease Analysis in the Era of Rituximab Maintenance in Follicular Lymphoma: Data from "FOLL12" Phase III Trial of the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi
• Single-Agent Mosunetuzumab Produces High Complete Response Rates in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Follicular Lymphoma: Primary Analysis of the Mithic-FL1 Trial
• Escalating Doses of AZD0486, a Novel CD19xCD3 T-Cell Engager, Result in High Complete Remissions with Rapid Clearance of Minimal Residual Disease in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma
• Fixed-Duration Epcoritamab + R2 Drives Deep and Durable Responses in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma: 2-Year Follow-up from Arm 2 of the Epcore NHL-2 Trial