By: Allen Wilbanks
Date: September 27/2023
Swetha Kambhampati, MD, presented at a conference with gratitude to the organizers and Dr. Flowers for the opportunity. She discussed innovative approaches for relapse refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. Dr. Kambhampati outlined her talk, covering BV and PD-1 inhibitors as salvage treatments, novel combinations, emerging immunotherapies, targeted treatments, and the role of stem cell transplants.
Standard treatment involves salvage chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant, with room for improvement in response rates. BV and PD-1 inhibitors are increasingly used in earlier treatment lines, showing high response rates.
Studies revealed BV as an effective bridge to transplant, even without chemotherapy. BV plus nivolumab demonstrated high response rates and allowed patients to proceed to transplant with excellent outcomes.
BV consolidation post-transplant improved progression-free survival (PFS) in high-risk patients. Pembrolizumab with GVD also showed promise as consolidation therapy.
Dr. Kambhampati discussed novel immunotherapies like CD30 CAR T cells and NK cell engagers, highlighting their potential.
She addressed strategies to overcome resistance to BV and PD-1 blockade, including combinations with cyclosporine, HDAC inhibitors, and dual checkpoint blockade.
Targeted treatments, especially mTOR inhibitors in combination, demonstrated increased efficacy.
Dr. Kambhampati emphasized resensitizing chemo-refractory patients to chemotherapy after PD-1 blockade exposure.
Lastly, she highlighted the importance of autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants as curative options for heavily pretreated patients.
In summary, Dr. Kambhampati’s presentation provided insights into evolving treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma, focusing on novel therapies, combinations, and transplantation strategies to improve outcomes.