Checkpoint Inhibition in Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

As patients continue to die from malignant lymphoma, novel treatment options continue to be warranted. To successfully grow and spread, tumor cells need to escape the immune system; therefore, the augmentation or restoration of immune effectors against the malignant cell could be of great value, as shown, e.g., for allogeneic transplantation. A deepened understanding of the regulation of activation and inhibition of the T cell-based effector mechanisms has led to the development of drugs that are able to modify specific checkpoints of this system and thereby raise an immune response against tumor cells. With dramatic responses observed in Hodgkin's disease (HD), interest has risen to explor…

Phase I/II study of pixantrone in combination with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone in patients with relapsed aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Pixantrone is a potentially more effective, less cardiotoxic alternative to doxorubicin for patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (aNHL). This phase I/II non-comparative study evaluated pixantrone in place of doxorubicin in the standard CHOP regimen (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone), i.e. CPOP (cyclophosphamide, pixantrone, vincristine, and prednisone), in patients with relapsed aNHL who had previously received CHOP ± rituximab. Patients were administered pixantrone on day 1 of each 21-day cycle. Phase I (n = 35) dose escalation from 80 mg/m(2) to 180 mg/m(2) established the phase II (n = 30) dose as 150 mg/m(2). In phase II, 20 patients (67%) received all…

What is the best time for psychosocial counselling from the perspective of cancer patients and their relatives? : A multi-centre qualitative study