In today’s episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Alex F. Herrera, MD, about key safety and efficacy findings from the phase 3 SWOG S1826 trial (NCT03907488) evaluating nivolumab (Opdivo) plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (N+AVD) vs brentuximab vedotin (BV) plus AVD (BV+AVD) in adolescent and adult patients with stage III or IV advanced-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma. Herrera is chief of the Division of Lymphoma in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, as well as the associate medical director of the Briskin Center for Clinical Research and an associate professor in the Division of Lymphoma in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope in Duarte, California.

After 2.1 years of follow-up (range, 0-4.2), N+AVD prolonged median progression-free survival (PFS) and had a more tolerable safety profile compared with BV+AVD. The 2-year PFS rate with N+AVD was 92% (95% CI, 89%-94%) vs 83% (95% CI, 79%-86%) with BV+AVD (HR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.30-0.65). Notably, the benefit with N+AVD was consistent across diverse patient subgroups enrolled in the study.

In our exclusive interview, Dr Herrera expanded on the rationale for conducting SWOG S1826, detailed key data showing sustained benefit and safety with N+AVD, and explained how these results support the use of N+AVD as a strong candidate for primary treatment in adolescent and adult patients with stage III or IV Hodgkin lymphoma.