Dr. Goy on Advancements in Relapsed/Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Andre Goy, MD, MS, chairman and director, chief of Lymphoma, and director of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research at John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses recent therapeutic advancements in the field of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in the relapsed/refractory setting.

Given the fact that dose-intesnive strategies and high-dose transplant are not easily feasible regimens for elderly patients with MCL, Goy explains that there are opportunities to improve on the default standard therapy of R-CHOP. At 2 years, 75% of these patients relapse.

Therefore, there are ongoing clinical trials that are combining R-CHOP with other agents, one of which is bortezomib (Velcade) in the relapse setting. Based on earlier data, there has been signs of promise with the combination. Results have shown nearly a 60% improvement in progression-free survival of 14 to 27 months and an improvement in complete response rates.