Salvage therapy with brentuximab-vedotin and bendamustine for patients with R/R PTCL: a retrospective study from the LYSA

ABSTRACT: Purpose: Patients with Relapsed or Refractory (R/R) Peripheral T cell Lymphomas (PTCL) have a poor prognosis. Bendamustine (B) and Brentuximab Vedotin (Bv) have shown interesting results in this setting. However, little information is available about their efficacy in combination. Patients and Methods: This multicenter and retrospective study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of BBv in patients with non-cutaneous R/R PTCL among 21 LYSA centers in France and Belgium. The primary objective was the overall response rate. Results: Eighty-two patients with R/R PTCL were included. The best ORR was 68%, with 49% of patients in CR. In multivariable analysis, only the relapse status after the last regimen (relapse vs refractory) was associated with the response with an ORR of 83% vs 57% (OR=3.70 (95%CI:1.3-10.5); p=0.014). Median DoR was 15.4 (0.6-50.2) months for patients in CR. With a median follow-up of 22 (0-52) months, the median PFS and OS were 8.3 and 26.3 months respectively. Moreover, patients in CR, who underwent an allogeneic transplant, had a better outcome than patients who did not with a median PFS and OS of 19.3 versus 4.8 months (p=0.0005) and NR versus 12.4 months (p=0.0013) respectively. Fifty-nine percent of patients experienced grade 3/4 adverse events which were mainly hematologic. Conclusion: BBv is highly active in patients with R/R PTCL and should be considered as a one of the best option of immunochemotherapy salvage combination in this setting and particularly as a bridge to allogeneic transplant for eligible patients.