Dr. Kaplan on the RELEVANCE Trial in Follicular Lymphoma

Lawrence D. Kaplan, MD, clinical professor of medicine, director, Adult Lymphoma Program, division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the RELEVANCE trial in previously untreated patients with follicular lymphoma.

The combination of rituximab (Rituxan) and lenalidomide (Revlimid; R²) failed to meet its co-primary endpoint of progression-free survival versus rituximab and chemotherapy in the phase III RELEVANCE trial.

The superiority design of the trial was very ambitious, explains Kaplan. Though R² missed its endpoint, Kaplan notes that the outcomes between the chemotherapy/rituximab regimens and the lenalidomide/rituximab regimen were very similar. This lends supports to the idea of using a non-chemotherapy regimen as frontline therapy. The regimen is a great treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory disease, according to Kaplan, who says that it currently serves as his standard second-line treatment. As time goes on, Kaplan predicts that this will become a favored approach for patients, especially those who may not be the best candidates for a chemotherapy-based regimen.