Polatuzumab Vedotin: Current Role and Future Applications in the Treatment of Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Authors

Rita Assi^{1, *,} , Nohad Masri¹, Iman Abou Dalle², Jean El-Cheikh², Hady Ghanem¹, Ali Bazarbachi^{2, *,}

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Lebanese American University and Lebanese American University Medical Center-Rizk Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon

²Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon

^*Corresponding authors. Email: rita.assi@laumcrh.com; bazarbac@aub.edu.lb

DOI

10.2991/chi.k.210305.001How to use a DOI?

Keywords

DLBCL; relapsed/refractory; transplantation; ADC; polatuzumab vedotin

Abstract

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a biologically and clinically heterogeneous disease. Despite good responses to standard of care frontline chemoimmunotherapy, the prognosis of relapsed/refractory (R/R) patients remains obscured by the possible inadequate responses to salvage therapy, eligibility for autologous transplantation, age and comorbidities. Polatuzumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate formed by a CD79b antibody conjugated to the highly cytotoxic agent monomethyl auristatin E by means of a cleavable linker. Following significant clinical efficacy in R/R DLBCL, polatuzumab vedotin was granted accelerated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in combination with bendamustine plus rituximab for patients who have failed at least two prior therapies. Other clinical studies involving polatuzumab vedotin in combination with other therapy regimens are also under evaluation for previously untreated DLBCL patients. In this article, we review the different phases from the preclinical development of polatuzumab vedotin to studies leading to its first approval, and highlight the potential future roles of this molecule in the treatment landscape of DLBCL.

Copyright

© 2021 International Academy for Clinical Hematology. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Rita Assi
AU  - Nohad Masri
AU  - Iman Abou Dalle
AU  - Jean El-Cheikh
AU  - Hady Ghanem
AU  - Ali Bazarbachi
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/03/13
TI  - Polatuzumab Vedotin: Current Role and Future Applications in the Treatment of Patients with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
JO  - Clinical Hematology International
SP  - 21
EP  - 26
VL  - 3
IS  - 1
SN  - 2590-0048
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/chi.k.210305.001
DO  - 10.2991/chi.k.210305.001
ID  - Assi2021
ER  -