Emerging drugs for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Introduction Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a rare and incurable group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas that manifest as patches, plaques, tumors, and/or erythroderma in the skin. Standard skin-directed therapies for CTCL are effective in patients with indolent early-stage disease, but more advanced/refractory stage patients require systemic therapies. However, none of the treatments are considered curative and most patients suffer from relapses. Biologic therapies and immunotherapy provide novel treatment options for patients with advanced or refractory disease. Areas covered This review provides a discussion of recently approved biological and novel therapeutics that are actively developed for the management of the heterogeneous group of CTCL. Expert opinion Mogamulizumab and brentuximab vedotin have reached the market and are approved for the treatment of CTCL, providing valuable options. Additionally, therapies utilizing immune checkpoint inhibitors, miRNA inhibitors, and peptide inhibitors show promising results in clinical trials. Durvalumab, pembrolizumab, TTI-621, BNZ-1, and MRG-106 are several of the emerging treatments still in trials. Further combinatorial studies are needed as none of the treatments have demonstrated long-term remissions.