Outcomes Related to FDG-PET-CT Response in Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma Treated With Brentuximab-Vedotin at Relapse or Consolidation

Background: Brentuximab-vedotin (BV) monotherapy has shown high efficacy in heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) after high-dose chemotherapy or autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of treatment with BV of HL patients and examined the predictive ability of PET-CT for response in this setting.

Patients and methods: Records of 49 HL patients (median age, 39 years, 55% male) treated with BV for relapse (71.4%) or consolidation (28.6%) post-ASCT were analyzed. Patients who did not reach complete response (CR) on PET/CT after 4 cycles (non-responders) discontinued BV and received the next treatment line. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were compared between responders and non-responders.

Results: After a median follow-up of 19.1 months, all consolidation patients were alive and none progressed. Median OS in 23 relapsed patients that did not achieve CR after 4 cycles and continued to the next treatment was 55.0 months, while all those in CR (n = 24) were alive (P = .0120). No statistically significant differences in OS were observed between responders and non-responders with relapsed HL (P = .1072). Median PFS evaluated after 4 BV cycles was significantly longer in responders compared to non-responders (47.9 vs. 1.5 months, P < .0001). Neuropathy and neutropenia were the main toxicities observed.

Conclusions: HL patients treated with BV for relapse or consolidation who achieved CR by PET-CT after 4 cycles showed improved PFS and OS compared to non-responders. Non-responders treated for relapsed HL who proceeded to the next treatment line demonstrated comparable OS to responders.