ASH 2021 | Current and emerging treatment options for Hodgkin lymphoma
Julia Driessen, MBBS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, discusses the limitations of currents standards of care for Hodgkin Lymphoma and outlines novel promising treatment options for this condition. To begin with, brentuximab vedotin has been approved in the US but not yet in Europe despite showing improvements in relapsed patients. Dr Driessen also highlights the importance of investigating the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients refractory to chemotherapy who do not benefit from brentuximab vedotin. Several clinical trials are currently comparing checkpoint inhibitors to brentuximab vedotin and to chemotherapy as a pre-autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) treatment regimen. In addition, Dr Driessen explains that brentuximab vedotin and checkpoint inhibitors could be used as an alternative to ASCT, thereby bypassing the toxicity and long-term side effects caused by ASCT. This interview took place at the 63rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition congress in Atlanta, GA.
