Brentuximab Vedotin with Chemotherapy for Stage III or IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

TLDR: A+AVD had superior efficacy to ABVD in the treatment of patients with advanced‐stage Hodgkin's lymphoma, with a 4.9 percentage‐point lower combined risk of progression, death, or noncomplete response and use of subsequent anticancer therapy at 2 years.

Abstract: Background Brentuximab vedotin is an anti-CD30 antibody–drug conjugate that has been approved for relapsed and refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Methods We conducted an open-label, multicenter, randomized phase 3 trial involving patients with previously untreated stage III or IV classic Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in which 664 were assigned to receive brentuximab vedotin, doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (A+AVD) and 670 were assigned to receive doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD). The primary end point was modified progression-free survival (the time to progression, death, or noncomplete response and use of subsequent anticancer therapy) as adjudicated by an independent review committee. The key secondary end point was overall survival. Results At a median follow-up of 24.6 months, 2-year modified progression-free survival rates in the A+AVD and ABVD groups were 82.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 78.8 to 85.0) and 77.2% (95% CI, 73.7 to 80.4), respectively, a difference of...