Combining the drug nivolumab with chemotherapy halves the rate of cancer progression or death for patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin’s lymphoma or advanced blood cancers compared with prior protocols of AVD therapy, according to a new study. treatment.

Researchers at the University of Rochester report that the new “N-AVD” treatment has less serious side effects than prior treatments. New England Journal of Medicine.

Hodgkin lymphoma – also known as Hodgkin’s disease, is a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system – which protects your body from infection and disease.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 10,000 new cases of the deadly disease are diagnosed each year — and Hodgkin lymphoma is expected to take the lives of about 910 people in 2024. “It disproportionately affects younger patients,” said the study’s corresponding author, Dr. Jonathan Friedberg, at the University of Rochester. “The average age of patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma can be around 30, meaning half of patients are younger than that.” Are.”

Before the new trial, the standard of care for stage 3 or 4 Hodgkin lymphoma was brentuximab vedotin plus AVD (BV-AVD). However, last year, early results of a trial comparing BV-AVD with the new N-AVD regimen found results in people who received N-AVD Very Positive – so positive that the “predetermined threshold” for treatment effectiveness was already achieved.

Now, more than two years of follow-up is confirming those initial expectations. “This new analysis with more patient follow-up is important to understand the clinically meaningful benefit derived from N-AVD compared to BV-AVD,” said Michael LeBlanc, the study’s lead biostatistician, in a news release.

How were the Phase 3 clinical trials conducted?

According to experts, the Phase 3 clinical compared the results of both drug regimens among nearly 1000 newly diagnosed adolescents and adults – struggling Stage 3 or 4 classic Hodgkin lymphomaAfter two years of follow-up, the team found that the survival rate without any signs of lymphoma progression among those who received N-AVD was 92 percent, compared with 83 percent among those who received BV-AVD.

Fewer patients taking the nivolumab-containing regimen died during treatment than patients taking BV-AVD, the researchers said.

All this nearly halved the rate of cancer progression or death in people taking the new diet. Also, fewer people taking N-AVD had to stop treatment early than those taking BV-AVD.

What were the side effects?

The study authors said side effects were generally minimal on the nivolumab regimen, which is especially true for older patients — those ages 60 and older.

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