Brentuximab Vedotin for Treatment of Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Objectives: Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is an antibody-drug conjugate comprising a CD30-directed antibody conjugated to the microtubule-disrupting agent MMAE via a protease cleavable linker. BV is FDA approved for use in relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma and relapsed systemic Methods: primary study outcomes being objective response rate. PubMed (1946-2015), EMBASE (1947-2015), and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1898-2015). Inclusion criteria included all studies and case reports of NHLs in which BV therapy was administered. Twenty-eight articles met these criteria. Results: Utilizing the twelve clinical subtypes, we found clinical evidence of BV and stratified the study populations into three groups: B-cell malignancies (group A), T-cell malignancies (group B), and non-B or non-T-cell hematological malignancies (group C). Across the group A malignancies, there were 87 patients. 48% experienced an objective response (OR). Across the group B malignancies, there were 274 patients. 74% experienced an OR. Across the group C malignancies, there were 9 patients. 44% experienced an OR. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that BV induces a variety of responses, largely positive and variable between NHL subtypes. With properly powered prospective studies, BV may prove to be a strong candidate in the treatment of CD30+ malignancies.