Dr Vose on the Development of Epcoritamab in Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL

“Patients were treated in this particular study with a subcutaneous dosing, which is more convenient for [them], and typically, it can be done sometimes it's an outpatient for some of the initial smaller doses, and for the first full dose, patients are typically admitted for that.”

Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, the chief of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Division of Oncology and Hematology, a professor in the UNMC Division of Oncology and Hematology, and the George and Peggy Payne Distinguished Chair of Oncology, detailed the rationale behind evaluating epcoritamab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

The ongoing phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 trial (NCT0362537) is investigating the CD3/CD20 bispecific antibody epcoritamab for the treatment of patients with DLBCL who have previously received 2 or more therapies, Vose began. Of note, patients on the study were relapsed/refractory to up to 8 prior lines of therapy, with a median of 3 prior lines, she added.

The rationale for exploring epcoritamab in this patient population was to determine alternative therapies for patients who were refractory to standard chemotherapies and immunotherapies, Vose continued. She emphasized that the goal with epcoritamab is to establish a treatment with fewer toxicities which is easier to administer in the outpatient setting.

In the study, patients are required to have a relapsed/refractory CD20 mature B-cell neoplasm; have previously received at least 2 lines of systemic antineoplastic therapy, which includes at least 1 regimen containing an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody; FDG PET–avid and measurable disease per CT/MRI; an ECOG performance status of 0 to 2; and could have previously received CAR T-cell therapy. Considering the eligibility criteria, most of these patients have very limited options remaining, Vose added. Notably, patients were treated with epcoritamab subcutaneously, which is more convenient for patients, she asserted. In the dose expansion phase of the study, patients (n = 157) were treated with subcutaneous epcoritamab at 48 mg until they experienced disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. The end points in the post-hoc analysis were objective response rate, duration of complete response, progression-free survival, overall survival, minimal residual disease negativity rate, and safety.