Safety and activity of pembrolizumab in combination with rituximab in relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma.

ABSTRACT: PD-1 blockade enhances the function of antitumor T cells and antibody-dependent, cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) of NK cells. In a single-center, open-label, phase 2 trial, we tested the combination of pembrolizumab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, and rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that induces ADCC, in 30 patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) with rituximab-sensitive disease who had relapsed after ≥1 prior therapy. Pembrolizumab was administered at 200 mg IV every 3 weeks for up to 16 cycles, and rituximab was given at 375 mg/m2 IV weekly for 4 weeks in cycle 1 only. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were liver enzyme abnormalities (3%), diarrhea (3%), nausea (3%), aseptic meningitis (3%), and pancreatitis (3%). Low-grade immune-related AEs were reported in

SUBMITTER: Nastoupil LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8864656 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature