Durable remission for four pediatric patients with high-risk relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma treated with brentuximab vedotin plus gemcitabine but without autologous stem cell transplantation: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group

Buhtoiarov IN, Mba NI, Santos CDL, McCarten KM, Metzger ML, Pei Q, Bush R, Baker K, Kelly KM, Cole PD. Durable remission for four pediatric patients with high-risk relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma treated with brentuximab vedotin plus gemcitabine but without autologous stem cell transplantation: A report from the Children’s Oncology Group. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2022 Jun;69(6):e29649. doi: 10.1002/pbc.29649. Epub 2022 Mar 26. PubMed PMID: 35338689; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9465975.

Patients with therapy-refractory or high-risk relapse classical Hodgkin lymphoma are typically treated with the high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDC/ASCT) to consolidate the response to salvage therapy. The combination of Brentuximab vedotin with Gemcitabine has recently been shown to be an effective and safe salvage regimen. While the majority of patients with complete responses to this regimen ultimately underwent HDC/ASCT consolidation, four subjects, reported herein, achieved durable complete remissions lasting more than four years after the study treatment but without ASCT consolidation. Further investigation of treatment strategies incorporating targeted agents may allow omission of HDC/ASCT for select patients.