Phase II study of E7777 in Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral and cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma

E7777 is a recombinant cytotoxic fusion protein composed of the diphtheria toxin fragments A and B and human interleukin‐2. It shares an amino acid sequence with denileukin diftitox, but has improved purity and an increased percentage of active monomer. We undertook a multicenter, single‐arm phase II study of E7777 in patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T‐cell lymphoma (PTCL) and cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (CTCL) to evaluate its efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and immunogenicity. A total of 37 patients were enrolled, of which 17 and 19 patients had PTCL and CTCL, respectively, and one patient with another type of lymphoma (extranodal natural killer/T‐cell lymphoma, nasal type), diagnosed by the Central Pathological Diagnosis Committee. Among the 36 patients with PTCL and CTCL, objective response rate based on the independent review was 36% (41% and 31%, respectively). The median progression‐free survival was 3.1 months (2.1 months in PTCL and 4.2 months in CTCL). The common adverse events (AEs) observed were increased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) / alanine aminotransferase (ALT), hypoalbuminemia, lymphopenia, and pyrexia. Our results indicated that a 9 µg/kg/d dose of E7777 shows efficacy and a manageable safety profile in Japanese patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL and CTCL, with clinical activity observed across the range of CD25 expression. The common AEs were manageable, but increase in ALT / AST, hypoalbuminemia, and capillary leak syndrome should be carefully managed during the treatment.