AUTHOR=Giannotti Federica , De Ramon Ortiz Carmen , Simonetta Federico , Morin Sarah , Bernardi Chiara , Masouridi-Levrat Stavroula , Chalandon Yves , Mamez Anne-Claire 

TITLE=Remission of relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma induced by brentuximab vedotin and pembrolizumab combination after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a case report

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1360275

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2024.1360275

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment option for patients with highly chemorefractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The CD30-targeting antibody drug conjugate Brentuximab-Vedotin (BV) and programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) blocking agents have demonstrated clinical activity with durable responses in relapsed/refractory (r/r) HL. However, patients with a history of allo-HSCT were frequently excluded from clinical trials due to concerns for the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We report the clinical history of a patient with refractory classical HL who underwent two allo-HSCT (first from matched unrelated and second from haploidentical donor) after relapsing on BV and on nivolumab, and for whom durable remission was finally obtained using BV-pembrolizumab combination for relapse after haploidentical HSCT. Such treatment was associated with the onset of GVHD after only 2 cycles which led to treatment discontinuation. However, the side effects were rapidly controlled and, after two years of follow-up, the patient is still in remission. Our data support the feasibility and efficacy of combining PD-1 blockade with BV to enhance the graft-versus-lymphoma effect after allo-HSCT.