Polatuzumab vedotin to treat relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, in combination with bendamustine plus rituximab

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in adults, and it accounts for about 30% of adult NHL cases. Newly diagnosed patients are treated with rituximab in combination with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy, but a significant number of patients relapse after initial treatment. New strategies for relapsed lymphomas are in development among which antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are currently in clinical trials. Polatuzumab vedotin is a novel ADC which binds to the commonly expressed B-cell antigen CD79b, and it delivers monomethyl auristatin E, a small molecule with anti-tubulin activity. Polatuzumab vedotin in combination with bendamustine and rituximab (BR) has been approved in the U.S. and the E.U. for use in patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL ineligible for transplant. These approvals were based on a randomized study of patients treated with either polatuzumab vedotin plus BR or BR alone, where complete response was 40% in the polatuzumab vedotin + BR group versus 18% in the BR group. The most common adverse events of this treatment were cytopenias and peripheral neuropathy.