Tag: rituximab

Lymphoma Physicians Discuss Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab as Initial Mantle Cell Lymphoma Treatment

Recently Dr. John Leonard was interviewed by the Lymphoma Research Foundation and answered questions about the current state of treatment for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Specifically, they discussed how results from the 2015, New England Journal of Medicine published study, “Lenalidomide plus Rituximab as Initial Treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma” has improved the treatment options for MCL patients. This multi-center phase 2 study showed that a combination therapy, lacking many of the typical debilitating effects of traditional cancer treatment could effectively manage MCL by inducing remissions in the vast majority of patients.

Dr. Leonard, the study’s senior author, described the potential impact of this research and how it could improve our understanding of MCL and treatment as follows,

“This research provides an additional option for patients with MCL and represents the first study of a non-chemotherapy approach that is generally of lower intensity than usual initial treatment. The fact that the majority of patients had durable disease control, with good quality of life, suggests that this approach may have value for some patients. Ongoing research will better assess the longer term outcomes with this approach, and how it either compares with or can be combined with other treatments. This study demonstrates the value of potentially using newer agents as part of initial treatment in MCL, rather than holding off until the disease recurs later.”

In April 2016 the study was nominated by the Clinical Research Forum as one of their Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards of 2016. The 10 winning papers were chosen based on their degree of innovation from a pool of more than 40 nominations from 30 research and academic health centers nationwide.

In the video below you can watch the study’s lead author Dr. Jia Ruan describe the importance of her team’s findings.

Weill Cornell Lymphoma Program Study on Mantle Cell Lymphoma Has Received a Top 10 Clinical Research Forum Achievement Award from a National Clinical Research Organization

Dr. Jia Ruan examines study participant Russell Meyer. Photo credit: Carlos Rene Perez

Dr. Jia Ruan, lead author of the New England Journal of Medicine  study “Lenalidomide plus Rituximab as Initial Treatment for Mantle-Cell Lymphoma,” was in Washington on April 12 at the Clinical Research Forum fifth annual awards ceremony to receive the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievements Award.  She also presented the study at the opening plenary session during the 2016 Translational Science meeting.

The 10 winning papers were chosen based on their degree of innovation from a pool of more than 40 nominations from 30 research and academic health centers nationwide.

The multi-center phase 2 study showed that a combination therapy lacking many of the typical debilitating effects of traditional cancer treatment could effectively manage mantle cell lymphoma by inducing remissions in the vast majority of patients.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that primarily affects elderly individuals. Initial treatment is not standardized and variable, but usually includes chemotherapy regimens that are generally not curative and may not be tolerated by all patients.

In this ongoing study, treatment with biologic combination of lenalidomide and rituximab led to high response rates and durable remissions in patients with previously untreated MCL, providing an effective alternative to conventional chemotherapy for a broad range of patients.

Thirty-eight patients have been treated on the study with induction and maintenance therapy. Among 36 evaluable patients, 92% responded to treatment, 64% of whom achieved complete response. Eighty-five percent of patients have no evidence of disease progression, and 97% remain alive at the two-year mark. The majority of patients reported a high quality of life as measured by quality-of-life instruments throughout treatment. The most common side effect were asymptomatic low white blood cell counts and transient inflammatory symptoms generally reversible with lenalidomide dose adjustment and supportive care.

“With this frontline treatment, we were able to achieve a very high quality and durable response rate without needing to use chemotherapy,” Ruan said. “It’s very meaningful for the patients who have always been told that their disease is without a cure.”

She thanked all of the patients who participated in the trial, as well as her Weill Cornell Medicine co-investigators: John Leonard M.D., Peter Martin M.D., Morton Coleman M.D., Richard Furman M.D., Paul Christos Dr.P.H. M.S., Orel Katz P.A., Jessica Katz P.A., and Amelyn Rodriguez R.N. Additional collaborators included Dr. Bijal Shah from Moffit Cancer Center, Drs. Steven Schuster and Jakub Svoboda from the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, and Dr. Sonali Smith from the University of Chicago Medical Center.

 

REDLAMP 12: Lenalidomide & Rituximab Combo Promising as Initial Treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Mantle cell lymphoma is a B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that primarily affects the elderly. Approach to initial treatment is highly variable, and decisions are made with consideration of balancing efficacy and toxicity. In this video Dr. Jia Ruan discusses results from a study published in the November 5th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The study demonstrated that lenalidomide when taken in combination with rituximab provides an effective treatment option .

Previous #REDLAMP entries can be viewed on our Youtube channel.

We encourage you to follow the Lymphoma Program on Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook where we will highlight new videos are about research publications as they are released. We also welcome your feedback, suggestions and questions about this project. If you have other questions about our lymphoma program or clinical trials or would like to see one of our lymphoma specialists, please contact us at 212-746-2919.