Adding Tucidinostat to R-CHOP, the standard treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, could improve outcomes for patients with double-expressor Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
About Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Most Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma’s (NHL) cases involve cancer in B-lymphocytes, specialized immune cells that help the body fight infection. A current standard treatment regimen for NHL is a combination of targeted and chemotherapy drugs called R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, Oncovin, and prednisone). R-CHOP is considered widely effective for many types of NHL. However, about a third of patients with Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a type of NHL, express two genes associated with poor outcomes. Research is ongoing to determine if additional drugs can be incorporated in R-CHOP to improve the outcomes of patients at high risk of recurrence.
About Tucidinostat + R-CHOP
One proposed strategy to improve outcomes in patients with DE (double-expression) DLBCL involves adding Tucidinostat to R-CHOP. Tucidinostat is a targeted therapy drug that can impair cancerous B-cell growth in patients with DLBCL by inhibiting cancer growth-causing signaling pathways3.
A clinical trial conducted at 40 centers in mainland China directly compared 423 patients between ages 18 and 80 with DE DLBCL treated with R-CHOP with or without Tucidinostat. Overall, 73% of individuals treated with Tucidinostat had a complete disappearance of their cancer compared to 62% of those treated with R-CHOP alone.
At 24 months from the initiation of the treatment, 67% of the individuals treated with R-CHOP plus Tucidinostat survived without their cancer progressing compared to only 58.9% of those treated with R-CHOP alone.
Side Effects
While Tucidinostat with R-CHOP was tolerated well by most patients, some patients experienced hematologic side effects including anemia and low white blood cell and platelet counts.
Given the effectiveness of Tucidinostat with R-CHOP throughout the phase 3 trial, Tucidinostat could earn a spot as a first-line therapy for patients with double-expressor DLBCL.
References
- “Phase III DEB Trial: Interim Analysis of Tucidinostat + R-CHOP vs R-CHOP Alone as 1L Tx in MYC and BCL2 Double-Expressing DLBCL.” CCO Independent Conference Highlights of the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, clinicaloptions.com, 6 June 2024, clinicaloptions.com/CE-CME/oncology/deb-tucidinostat-rchop-in-dlbcl/38257.
- Weaver, Charles. “R-CHOP Treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.” Cancer Connect, Cancer Connect, Feb. 2023, news.cancerconnect.com/non-hodgkins-lymphoma/r-chop-treatment-for-non-hodgkin-lymphoma.
- Fang. Clin Transl Med. 2022;12:e975. 4. Sun. Cancer Lett. 2021;52v
