Dr. Straus on the 3-Year Results of the ECHELON-1 Study in Hodgkin Lymphoma

David J. Straus, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the 3-year follow-up results of the ECHELON-1 study, which examines brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) with chemotherapy for stage III/IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

In the study, 1334 patients were randomized to either doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) or brentuximab vedotin plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (AVD). The primary endpoints are survival, which has not been reached, and modified progression-free survival, which is at 2 years. At 2 years, there was a 5% difference in favor of brentuximab vedotin plus AVD. This was statistically significant and led to the approval of brentuximab vedotin in this combination.

In this 3-year follow-up, there is a subset analysis showing the difference between PFS for ABVD versus brentuximab vedotin plus AVD is 7%. Additionally, most relapses happen within 2 or 3 years.