Dr. Moskowitz on the ALCANZA Trial in CTCL

Alison J. Moskowitz, MD, clinical director, Lymphoma Inpatient Unit, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the data that led to the approval of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

The data that led to the approval for brentuximab vedotin in CTCL came from the phase III ALCANZA study, which enrolled patients with primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma, those who had received prior systemic therapy, and those who showed at least 10% CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides (MF). Patients were randomized to receive either brentuximab vedotin or investigator’s choice of therapy with either methotrexate or bexarotene.

The primary endpoint of the study was an overall response rate that lasted at least 4 months (ORR4). It’s an important response rate in a more chronic disease like CTCL for which physicians aim for durable disease control, Moskowitz says. The ORR4 for the patients with MF who received brentuximab was 50% compared with 10% with investigator’s choice, a clearly statistically significant improvement. Patients are showing a clear improvement in clinical benefit from the treatment, notes Moskowitz.