Hematologic Oncology Update, Issue 1, 2016 (Video Program)Side effects and durability of response with brentuximab vedotin
1:18 minutes.
TRANSCRIPTION:
DR YOUNES: Neuropathy is one of the most common side effects of brentuximab vedotin. Most of the times it’s a Grade 2, so it’s reasonably well tolerated because now most of us are aware of this symptom. So we would not push the drug at the same dose level once patients start having more severe neuropathy. So we can dose delay or dose reduce brentuximab to avoid increasing the severity of neuropathy. So now we rarely see Grade 3 or 4 neuropathy because of this intervention. So most patients would have their best response after 4 to 5 cycles of brentuximab. So most of the patients, if you have a PR after 5, it’s unlikely to achieve a CR after 8 or 16. You can maintain your PR. You can maintain a durable partial remission with continued dosing. But it’s unlikely to achieve a CR. So the course is not unusual — eventually will progress. And, as you remember from the pivotal trial, most patients progress within 5 to 6 doses of brentuximab vedotin. If you achieve a CR, it’s a completely different story. I mean, some patients remain in CR for up to 5 years. One could call them potentially cured. It’s hard to say that now. But maybe some of them are cured. So if you achieve a CR, it’s major, major good news. If you achieve a PR, it’s not as durable as the CR patients. |