Diana-Marina FORTOES, Elena NICORICI, Cosmin MINCIUNA Andrei CIANGA, Ramona TIMOFTE, Amalia TITIEANU, Elena DOLACHI-PELIN, Ion ANTOHE, Angela DASCALESCU, Catalin DANAILA
Aim: To assess the real-world efficacy of brentuximab vedotin and PD-1 inhibitors versus historical chemotherapy-only salvage regimens in relapsed/refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma.
Methods: Retrospective, single-center study of two cohorts (n=30 each) treated between 1996–2012 (historical) and 2017–2021 (immunotherapy), with survival endpoints (OS, PFS, EFS1-3) analyzed by Kaplan–Meier and log-rank tests.
Results: The immunotherapy group achieved a higher overall response rate (80% vs. 36.7%, p=0.001), longer median OS (47 vs. 30 months) and superior EFS1–3 (33 vs. 16 months, 32.5 vs. 8 months, 38 vs. 23 months; all p<0.05) compared to historical controls.
Conclusion: Incorporation of brentuximab vedotin and PD-1 blockade before and after autologous SCT significantly improves response and survival outcomes in relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, supporting earlier use of these agents in salvage and frontline settings.
Keywords: refractory/relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma , brentuximab vedotin, PD-1 inhibitors, Autologous stem cell transplant (autoSCT)
https://doi.org/10.59854/dhrrh.2025.3.2.67
