Tafasitamab Plus Lenalidomide Approval Generates Excitement for Second-Line DLBCL

Kami J. Maddocks, MD, associate professor of clinical internal medicine, Division of Hematology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–James, discusses the role of tafasitamab (Monjuvi) and lenalidomide (Revlimid) following the approval of this agent as treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

For patients who are ineligible for salvage chemotherapy followed by transplant, this combination was approved for the treatment of patients after first relapse. Historically, physicians would provide some sort of palliative chemotherapy in this setting if the patient was a candidate and was pursuing therapy or had consideration of clinical trial, but this is the only approved agent in this setting, Maddocks says.

The overall response rate in the phase 2 study that led to the combination’s approval was 60% with a complete response rate of 40%. The median progression-free survival was a little over 1 year, and the median overall survival was not reached in the initial dataset. With further follow-up, though, Maddocks says the median duration of response was nearly 3 years. This is an impressive finding, that patients achieve durable responses with the combination.