A new treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma has proven to be more effective and less destructive to the body for both adults and pediatric patients.
A recent clinical trial led by UR Medicine's Wilmot Cancer Institute showed that a combination of chemotherapy and the immunotherapy drug nivolumab has less short-term and long-term side effects for the cancer patient.
“We're curing substantially more patients with this regimen, and in addition, the regimen was less toxic than the previous regimen,” said Dr. Jonathan Friedberg, director of Wilmot Cancer Institute.
The study, which was funded by the National Cancer Institute, enrolled patients from over 200 sites nationwide and in Canada. About 12% were Black and 13% were Latino. Friedberg said about a third were enrolled by pediatricians. Half of the patients were treated with the “standard regimen”- which includes chemotherapy along with a drug called Brentuximab vedotin. The other group was given the “novel treatment."
“The results really surprised all of us,” Friedberg said.
After only a year in follow up, Friedberg said the data safety monitoring committee recommended closing the trial early because “the signal was so great that the new regimen had improved efficacy compared to the old regimen.”
Hodgkin Lymphoma is a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes. These cells control the body’s immune response to infections. This particular cancer disproportionately affects younger patients, with the median age of patients being 30.
Although it’s an uncommon cancer, the vast majority of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are cured. However, Friedberg said, those who are not cured must go on to get significant toxic therapy or radiation, which increases chances for future illness.
With the new combination immunotherapy treatment, Friedberg said, they’ve “largely eliminated radiation therapy as part of the treatment.”
“This drug helps to take the brakes off the immune system and helps the immune system start to fight the cancer,” he said.
Jennifer Cottrell has been in remission for seven years. As a sports reporter for 13WHAM news, Cottrell’s fight with HL was a bit public. She said the mental toll was the hardest part.
“I ended up losing my hair, and that was really hard to go through treatment and then look in the mirror and not even realize and recognize yourself,” Cottrell said. She said hearing about the new advancements is exciting.
“I just can't help but feel so positive for future patients,” she said. “To hear about a treatment that works so successfully and is less taxing on the body, is just really encouraging.”
Friedberg believes that “we're in the midst of an immunotherapy revolution in the treatment of cancer.” He said although immunotherapy seems to work, it's not a definitive cure, and combining immunotherapy with other standard approaches may ultimately be curative.
The study is published later in the New England Journal of Medicine.
