A Study of Safety and Efficacy of Nivolumab and Bendamustine (NB) in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma After Nivolumab Monotherapy Failure

This single-center prospective clinical trial evaluated the combination of nivolumab plus bendamustine (NB) as a salvage regimen in classical Hodgkin lymphoma patients after failure of nivolumab monotherapy. A total of 30 patients received nivolumab (3 mg/kg) on D1,14 and bendamustine (90 mg/m(2)) on D1, 2 of a 28-day cycle for up to 3 cycles. The ORR was 87% with 57% CR, 30% PR. With median follow-up of 25 months, the estimated 2-year OS was 96,7% (95% CI, 90.2%–100%), PFS was 23,3% (95% CI, 8.2%–38.4%) median PFS was 10.2 months (95% CI, 7.7–14.2 months) with median DOR 6.6 months (95% CI 3.9–11.6 months). Ten patients (33.3%) experienced grade 3 to 4 AE during therapy. Infections were most common AEs of the combined therapy. NB was a highly efficient salvage regimen in relapsed/refractory cHL with a manageable toxicity profile and modest potential for achievement of long-term remission. Registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov (#NCT0334365).