FROM THE JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY
Lenalidomide alone and in combination showed “clinically significant activity” and no new safety signals in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who had previously failed on ibrutinib, according to findings from a retrospective, observational study.
Michael Wang, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and his colleagues enrolled 58 MCL patients across 11 study sites. The patients had a median age of 71 years and 88% of patients had received three or more prior therapies. Most had received ibrutinib as monotherapy and used a lenalidomide-containing therapy next.
The overall response rate was 29% (95% confidence interval, 18%-43%). The rate was similar between patients with MCL refractory to ibrutinib and patients who relapsed/progressed on or following ibrutinib use (32% versus 30%, respectively). There was a 14% complete response, though it varied by subgroup with 8% among MCL patients refractory to ibrutinib and 22% among relapsed/progressed patients. There was a 20-week median duration of response, but 82% of responders were censored so the researchers urged caution in interpreting that finding.
Among the 58 patients, more than 80% reported one or more treatment-emergent adverse events during lenalidomide treatment and 20 patients (34%) had serious events. Nine patients (16%) discontinued the drug because of adverse events.
“Lenalidomide addresses an unmet medical need and widens the therapeutic options in a difficult-to-treat patient population,” the researchers wrote.
Read the full study in the Journal of Hematology Oncology ( 2017 Nov 2;10[1]:171 ).
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
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