New avenues of treatment are opened in the field of cutaneous lymphomas thanks to the results of a drug based on immunotherapy.
A clinical study confirms that the drug brentuximab vedotin is effective and safe for some types of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. This represents a significant advance for the treatment of this low-recurrence, yet chronic, progressive and debilitating type of cancer.
The clinical study was led by scientists from the Hospital Universitario de Bellvitge (HUB) in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, and the Biomedical Research Institute of Bellvitge (IDIBELL), also located in Hospitalet de Llobregat and which is part of the CERCA institution of the Government of Catalonia.
Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas are collectively known as non-Hodgkin lymphomas. They begin as skin rashes when lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, become cancerous by a process that is still unknown.
Brentuximab is a type of targeted therapy with an antibody component that binds to the CD30 protein, which is found on the surface of tumor cells, and then releases the drug, destroying these cells.
The study was carried out on 67 patients from 21 hospital centers throughout Spain and also with data from the Spanish Registry of Cutaneous Lymphoma (RELCP). It has been published in the academic journal European Journal of Dermatology and Veneoreology. The work has been coordinated by Dr. Cristina Muniesa, a researcher at IDIBELL, the HUB and the Viladecans Hospital.
From left to right: Dr. Cristina Muniesa, Dr. Fina Climent and Dr. Octavi Servitge, from the research team. (Photo: IDIBELL / Bellvitge Hospital)
Until now, actual clinical practice with brentuximab vedotin was very limited in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas, due to the low prevalence of these cancers.
However, this study opens avenues for searching for treatments, providing new data on the effectiveness of this immunotherapy in the treatment of advanced forms of mycosis fungoides and CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorders, as well as for Sézary syndrome and follicular mycosis fungoides.
Follow-up data 18 months after the start of the treatment cycles show that 67% of the patients responded to the drug and 24% had achieved total remission of plaques and tumors on the skin. According to the publication, the therapy is generally well tolerated, although neuropathy is the most frequent adverse effect, affecting 57% of patients. (Source: IDIBELL)