Dr Huang on the Efficacy of Sintilimab Plus Chidamide and P-GemOx in Treatment-Naive ENKTL.

"Based on these preliminary results, we can see that this treatment combination [produced] promising, durable responses for the treatment [of patients with] ENKTL."

Huiqiang Huang, MD, PhD, a professor and deputy director of the Medical Oncology Department at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, China, discussed key findings from the phase 2 SCENT-2 trial (NCT04994210), which evaluated sintilimab (Tyvyt) plus chidamide, followed by pegaspargase, gemcitabine, and oxaliplatin (P-GemOx) in patients with treatment-naive, early-stage extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL).

Findings presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting showed that patients treated with the combination in part A of the study (n = 47) achieved an objective response rate (ORR) of 80.8%, of which 63.8% achieved complete response (CR); the partial response (PR), stable disease (SD), and progressive disease (PD) rates were 17.0%, 14.9%, and 4.3%, respectively, according to Huang. Following treatment with P-GemOx in part B, the ORR was 95.7%, with 93.6% achieving CR. The respective PR, SD, PD, and not evaluable (NE) rates were 2.1%, 0%, 0%, and 4.3%.

After patients were treated with involved-field radiotherapy in part C, the ORR was 95.7%, which were all CRs, and the remaining 4.3% were NE, Huang reported. At a median follow-up of 17.0 months (95% CI, 0.8-29.4), the 1-year progression-free survival rate was 95.7% (95% CI, 83.9%-98.9%), and the 1-year overall survival rate was 95.3% (95% CI, 82.2%-98.8%), he added.

Of note, Huang mentioned that 1 patient who achieved a CR died due to an intracranial hemorrhage from an accidental fall. Furthermore, the 1-year disease-free survival rate was 97.8% (95% CI, 85.3%-99.7%), and the 1-year duration of complete response rate was 97.8% (95% CI, 85.3%-99.7%), he explained.

Sintilimab/chidamide with P-GemOx might be a promising novel chemotherapy-reduced combination therapy with manageable toxicities for this population, and may be an effective induction regimen for treatment-naive patients with ENKTCL, Huang concluded.