title: Brentuximab vedotin in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. The Hellenic experience.
abstract: This retrospective study aimed to describe the Hellenic experience on the use of brentuximab vedotin (BV) in relapsed/refractory (R/R) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) given within its indication. From June 2011 to April 2015, ninety-five patients with R/R HL, who received BV in 20 centers from Greece, were analyzed. Their median age was 33 years, and 62% were males. Sixty-seven patients received BV after autologous stem cell transplantation failure, whereas 28 patients were treated with BV without a prior autologous stem cell transplantation, due to advanced age/comorbidities or chemorefractory disease. The median number of prior treatments was 4 and 44% of the patients were refractory to their most recent therapy. The median number of BV cycles was 8 (range, 2-16), and the median time to best response was the fourth cycle. Fifty-seven patients achieved an objective response: twenty-two (23%), a complete response (CR), and 35 patients (37%), a partial, for an overall response rate of 60%. Twelve patients (13%) had stable disease, and the remaining twenty-six (27%) had progressive disease as their best response. At a median follow-up of 11.5 months, median progression-free survival and overall survival were 8 and 26.5 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that chemosensitivity to treatment administered before BV was associated with a significantly increased probability of achieving response to BV (P = .005). Bulky disease (P = .01) and response to BV (P <.001) were significant for progression-free survival, while refractoriness to most recent treatment (P = .04), bulky disease (P = .005), and B-symptoms (P = .001) were unfavorable factors for overall survival. Among the 22 CRs, 5 remain in CR with no further treatment after BV at a median follow-up of 13 months. In conclusion, our data indicate that BV is an effective treatment for R/R HL patients even outside clinical trials. Whether BV can cure a fraction of patients remains to be seen.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Angelopoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Theodoros P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Vassilakopoulos
authors.affiliation: Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Department, General Hospital of Thessaloniki Papanikolaou, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Batsis
authors.affiliation: Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Department, General Hospital of Thessaloniki Papanikolaou, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sakellari
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, ATTIKON General University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gkirkas
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, ATTIKON General University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pappa
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Evaggelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiota
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giannoulia
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Evaggelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Apostolidis
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Medicine, "Sotiria" General Hospital of Thoracic Diseases, Hematology Unit, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Apostolopoulos
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Medicine, "Sotiria" General Hospital of Thoracic Diseases, Hematology Unit, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Paraskevi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roussou
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Propedeutic Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panayiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Panayiotidis
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Propedeutic Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dimou
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Propedeutic Internal Medicine, Laikon General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kyrtsonis
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Larissa University Hospital, University of Thessalia, Larissa, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Palassopoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Larissa University Hospital, University of Thessalia, Larissa, Greece.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vassilopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Athens Medical Center, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moschogiannis
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Heraklion University Hospital, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalpadakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Democritus University of Thrace Medical School, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Margaritis
authors.affiliation: Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spyridonidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Hematology, "G.Gennimatas" Athens General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Eurydiki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Michalis
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Air Force Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anargyrou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Metaxa Hospital, Pireaus, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Repousis
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Ioannina University Hospital, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
authors.forename: Eleutheria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hatzimichael
authors.affiliation: Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Department, General Hospital of Thessaloniki Papanikolaou, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Zoi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bousiou
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, 401 Military Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poulakidas
authors.affiliation: Hygeia General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grentzelias
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Evaggelismos General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Harhalakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Democritus University of Thrace Medical School, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Gerassimos A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Pangalis
authors.affiliation: Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Department, General Hospital of Thessaloniki Papanikolaou, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: Achilles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anagnostopoulos
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, ATTIKON General University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tsirigotis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000079963:Brentuximab Vedotin; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D018796:Immunoconjugates / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D018796:Immunoconjugates; D000079963:Brentuximab Vedotin
keywords: Hodgkin lymphoma; autologous stem cell transplantation; brentuximab vedotin; prognostic factors; relapsed/refractory