“Neuropathy can cause problems with sensation, numb fingers and hands, and sometimes it can be quite painful,” said Prince. Peripheral neuropathy was seen in 67 percent of patients in the Adcetris group compared with just 6 percent of patients in the physician's choice group. In the Adcetris group, 41 percent of patients experienced grade 3-4 adverse events compared with 47 percent in the physician’s choice group. The authors noted adverse events and four deaths one death was thought to be treatment related and three due to progression of disease. This is clearly the most active drug that we’ve had in CTCL in terms of response rate and PFS.” “Fundamentally, the problem with CTCL is that very few treatments work for a long period of time. “This study is practice changing in terms of it really gives us a brand new therapy, in what is otherwise a very difficult disease,” Miles Prince, M.D., a hematologist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and lead author on the study, said in an interview with CURE. Progression-free survival (PFS) was 16.5 months with Adcetris versus just under four months with the standard arm. The primary endpoint was an ORR lasting at least four months.Īt a median follow-up of 22.9 months, 56.3 percent of patients in the Adcetris group achieved an ORR lasting at least four months (36 of 64 patients) compared with 12.5 percent (eight of 64 patients) with physician's choice. Researchers randomly assigned them to either the Adcetris group (66 patients) or physician’s choice (65 patients). Between August 2012 and July 2015, 131 patients were enrolled from 52 centers in 13 countries. The randomized phase 3 trial compared Adcetris versus physician's choice of methotrexate or bexarotene, two chemotherapy agents. Adcetris is not yet approved for the treatment of CTCL. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, allogeneic stem cell transplantation - stem cells from a donor - should be considered in patients with advanced disease who may be resistant to therapy.Ĭurrently, the systemic therapies approved for treatment have determined 30 to 45 percent objective response rates (ORR), with low complete response rates.Ī recent study published in The Lancet shows promising results with Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin), an antibody-drug conjugate focused on targeting CD30 - a protein that sits on the surface of the cell and is used by medical professionals to identify particular types of malignancies. For patients with early-stage disease skin-directed therapies, such as topical lotions, alone may help, while both skin-directed and systemic therapies may be better for those with advanced disease. Much like many cancers, treatment options for CTCL are based on a patient’s health, age and stage of the disease. Although treatable, CTCL is incurable and often associated with reduced quality of life for patients and survivors. It generally affects men more than women and is usually first diagnosed in people between the ages of 50 and 60. I had to leave for the day.”ĬTCL is a rare blood cancer of the skin, making up approximately six cases per one million annually. In fact, I was on my lunch hour and it totally freaked me out. “I had no anticipation of coming out with a rare cancer diagnosis. “I went into that last dermatologist appointment thinking ‘OK, maybe this one will have a different topical thing that I can do,’” said Thornton, whose disease led her to the Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation (CLF), for which she now serves as CEO. Then 31 years old, Thornton was diagnosed with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a subset of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Five dermatologists later, over the course of a year, she learned the startling truth: It was cancer. It was a little itchy, but didn’t hurt however, it wasn’t going away either. When Susan Thornton developed a rash around her waist she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
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