Abstract
Relapsed or refractory (rel/ref) classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) remains a clinical challenge with limited effective treatments after high dose therapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Lenalidomide (Revlimid®) is an approved anti-neoplastic therapy for multiple myeloma, mantle cell lymphoma and myelodysplastic syndrome with del(5q). It has emerged as an agent with a manageable toxicity profile and promising clinical activity in a number of B cell malignancies. Two clinical trials have evaluated lenalidomide in rel/ref patients with cHL at a dose of 25mg daily for 21 days of a 28 day cycle. One study reported an overall response rate of 14%, a median time to progression of 3.2 month, with a median number of prior therapies of 2. The second study reported an overall response rate of 19%, a cytostatic response rate (CR+PR+SD> 6 month) of 33%, with a median number of prior therapies of 4. The most common reported grade 3-4 side effects in these studies respectively were: neutropenia 28% and 47%, thrombocytopenia 28% and 27%, and anemia 21% and 27%. We report on our experience in this case series with continuous low dose (10-20mg) lenalidomide in rel/ref cHL patients.
Twelve rel/ref cHL patients (pts) who previously underwent (or were not candidates for) ASCT and/or clinical trials were administered a daily dose of lenalidomide. Pts received 10mg and were titrated up to 20mg, if tolerated, with continuous dosing for 30 day cycles. Treatment continued until disease progression or the development of unacceptable adverse event at the lowest administered dose (5mg) of lenalidomide.
The median age at treatment was 33 (range 24-61) years with 5 females. Median number of prior therapies was 8 (range 3-16). Ten pts had received a prior stem cell transplant (9 ASCT, 1 allogenic, and 1 both ASCT and allogeneic). Of the 12 pts, we observed 3 PR (25%), and 9 SD (8 for more than 6 months) for an overall response rate of 25% and an overall cytostatic response rate (CR+PR+SD> 6 month) of 92%. Median number of cycles received was 6 (range 2-15); six patients remain on therapy. One patient with a PR after 2 cycles of therapy underwent allogeneic stem cell transplant. The median time to progression for the remaining 11 patients was 7.5 months (range 4-15 months). Three patients had progression of disease, all of whom were able to enroll on clinical trials. One patient discontinued therapy because of exacerbation of preexisting neuropathy and was able to transition to chemotherapy. A second patient discontinued therapy after experiencing significant fatigue. In general, the treatment was well tolerated, and the most common clinically significant adverse events were: neutropenia in 4 patients which was managed by GCSF support and dose reduction, exacerbation of neuropathy in 2 patients with one patient discontinuing therapy and dose reduction in the second, and diarrhea in one patient managed with dose reduction.
Despite a far more heavily treated patient population, continuous, low dose, single agent lenalidomide was both tolerable and effective in patients with rel/ref cHL. Continuous low dose lenalidomide is able to provide meaningful time to progression and bridge to further therapy. A clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of continuous daily dosing of lenalidomide in rel/ref cHL is warranted.
Off Label Use: Lenalidomide in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. O'Connor:Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding.
Author notes
Asterisk with author names denotes non-ASH members.
