Brentuximab Vedotin in Transplant-Naïve Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma: Experience in 30 Patients

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is characterized by the presence of CD30-positive Hodgkin Reed-Sternberg cells. Approximately 30%-40% of patients with advanced disease are refractory to frontline therapy or will relapse after first-line treatment. The standard management of these patients is salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). The best prognostic factor is the status of disease before ASCT; in particular, the normalization of positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Brentuximab vedotin (BV) has shown a high overall response rate in refractory/relapsed HL after ASCT, whereas few data are available regarding its role before ASCT