(en) The combination of rituximab and lenalidomide previously demonstrated promising efficacy in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas (aNHL), including diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Here, we evaluated the combination of Obinutuzumab, a type-II anti-CD20 antibody, with lenalidomide (GALEN regimen) in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) aNHL. A total of 85 patients (71 DLBCL and 13 MCL) received both study drugs. The overall response (OR) at the end of induction was 35.2% for DLBCL and 46.2% for MCL patients. With a median follow-up of 2.5 years, the median PFS and OS were 4.1 months and 10.6 months for DLBCL, and 5.8 months and not reached for MCL, respectively. Subgroup analysis based on cell of origin showed that efficacy of the GALEN regimen tended to be better in ABC-DLBCL compared to GC12 DLBCL with an OR of 44.4% vs 23.1%, and a median OS of 27 months vs 7.9 months. Most common grade 3 and 4 adverse events were neutropenia (50.0%) and thrombocytopenia (13.6%). Overall, the chemo-free GALEN regimen may represent an option in some subsets of patients with R/R aggressive lymphoma
Houot, R., Cartron, G., Bijou, F., de Guibert, S., Salles, G. A., Fruchart, C., Bouabdallah, K., Maerevoet, M., Feugier, P., Le Gouill, S., Tilly, H., Casasnovas, R.-O., Moluçon-Chabrot, C., Van Den Neste, E., Zachee, P., André, M., Bonnet, C., Haioun, C., Van Hoof, A., et al. (2019). Obinutuzumab plus Lenalidomide (GALEN) for the treatment of relapse/refractory aggressive lymphoma: a phase II LYSA study. Leukemia, 33(3), 776-780. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41375-018-0282-y (Original work published 2019)