MRD-driven treatment with venetoclax-R2 in mantle cell lymphoma: the Nordic Lymphoma Group MCL7 VALERIA trial

Mats Jerkeman*, Arne Kolstad, Martin Hutchings, Annika Pasanen, Leo Meriranta, Carsten Utoft Niemann, Rasmus Rask Kragh Jørgensen, Tarec Christoffer El-Galaly, Jon Riise, Sirpa Leppä, Jacob Haaber Christensen, Kristina Sonnevi, Lone Bredo Pedersen, Karin Fahl Wader, Ingrid Glimelius

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Despite improvements in treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), most patients eventually relapse. In this multicenter phase 1b/2 trial, we evaluated safety and efficacy of minimal residual disease (MRD)-driven venetoclax, lenalidomide, and rituximab (venetoclax-R2) in relapsed/refractory (R/R) MCL and explored the feasibility of stopping treatment in molecular remission. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR) at 6 months. After dose escalation, the recommended phase 2 dose was lenalidomide 20 mg daily, days 1 to 21; venetoclax 600 mg daily after ramp-up; and rituximab 375 mg/m2 weekly for 4 weeks, then every 8 weeks. MRD monitoring by RQ-PCR was performed every 3 months. When MRD-negativity in the blood was reached, treatment was continued for another 3 months; if MRD-negativity was then confirmed, treatment was stopped. In total, 59 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 73 years. At 6 months, the ORR was 63% (29 complete remission [CR], 8 partial remission [PR]), and 40% (4 CR, 2 PR) for patients previously failing a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 21 months, with median overall survival of 31 months. TP53 mutation was associated with inferior PFS (P < .01). Overall, 28 patients (48%) discontinued treatment in molecular remission, and 25 remain MRD negative after a median of 17.4 months. Hematological toxicity was frequent, with 52 of 59 (88%) patients with G3-4 neutropenia and 21 of 59 (36%) patients with G3-4 thrombocytopenia. To conclude, MRD-driven venetoclax-R2 is feasible and tolerable and shows efficacy in R/R MCL, also after BTK inhibitor failure. This trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov as #NCT03505944.

Original languageEnglish
JournalBlood advances
Volume8
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)407-415
Number of pages9
ISSN2473-9529
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Jan 2024

Bibliographical note

© 2024 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Humans
  • Aged
  • Lymphoma, Mantle-Cell
  • Rituximab/adverse effects
  • Lenalidomide/therapeutic use
  • Neoplasm, Residual/drug therapy
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/drug therapy
  • Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/adverse effects
  • Sulfonamides
  • Bridged Bicyclo Compounds, Heterocyclic
  • Rituximab/therapeutic use

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