Advocate Aurora Health community cancer clinics in both Illinois and Wisconsin, as part of Advocate Aurora’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP), joined an adult and pediatric clinical trial that directly compares the effectiveness of two different immunotherapy drugs in treating Hodgkin lymphoma.
The phase III study compares immunotherapy drugs nivolumab and brentuximab vedotin when given in combination with chemotherapy in treating people with newly diagnosed stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the body’s white blood cells, affects more than 8,000 people and results in more than 1,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. Disease onset typically begins in people between 15 and 40 years old. Symptoms include painless, yet abnormally sized lymph nodes, an enlarged spleen, fevers, night sweats, weight loss and uncomfortable itching.
“Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most treatable types of cancers,” said hematologist and oncologist Sherjeel Sana, MD, Advocate Aurora Research Institute’s principal investigator for the study. “However, current treatments still fail for up to 30% of patients with the disease. And since Hodgkin lymphoma tends to affect younger people – unlike its more common relative, non-Hodgkin lymphoma – researchers are desperately searching for new therapies to avoid this tragic loss of young life.”
Hodgkin lymphoma is most commonly diagnosed early in adulthood, especially in a person’s 20s, and is the most common cancer diagnosis in adolescents between 15 and 19 years old.
“Researchers believe patients as young as 12 years old may benefit from the development of novel therapies for Hodgkin lymphoma,” said pediatric oncologist Rebecca McFall, MD, lead pediatric researcher for the study.
Advocate Aurora NCORP sites will begin enrolling adults as well as pediatric patients at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Illinois.
“With the expansion of Advocate Aurora’s NCORP network to include our Illinois cancer clinics and children’s hospitals, the Research Institute is excited to play a role in developing cancer therapies that may improve health outcomes for some of our youngest patients,” said Amit Acharya, PhD, chief research officer and system vice president for Advocate Aurora and the Research Institute.
Both investigational drugs are already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) for treatment of other types of cancers, such as relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma, or for treatment of older patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma. Nivolumab is not approved by the FDA for use in newly diagnosed patients, of any age, with classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Brentuximab vedotin is not approved by the FDA for use in newly diagnosed patients under 18 years of age.
Some study participants will also receive radiation therapy, based on the treating physician’s recommendation, following treatment with the investigational therapy and chemotherapy. In addition to evaluating each investigational treatment regimen’s effect on patient survival, researchers will also conduct a series of quality-of-life analyses to assess the impact of each treatment regimen on patient well-being.
Study follow-up will last for up to 10 years after participants stop taking the study drugs. Investigators expect to enroll more than 900 participants at research sites across the country.
The study, “Immunotherapy (nivolumab or brentuximab vedotin) plus combination chemotherapy in treating patients with newly diagnosed stage III-IV classic Hodgkin lymphoma,” is sponsored by SWOG Cancer Research Network, a cooperative research group that designs and conducts clinical trials under the sponsorship of NCI.
To learn more about Advocate Aurora’s research, visit aurora.org/research.
About Advocate Aurora Research Institute
Advocate Aurora Research Institute is a not-for-profit, limited liability company of Advocate Aurora Health. Advocate Aurora has emerged as a national destination for patient-centered bench, translational and clinical research, and the Research Institute unifies the innovative research efforts throughout the health system. Advocate Aurora researchers focus on rapidly translating new discoveries from the scientist’s bench to the patient’s bedside and into the community we serve to improve options and outcomes that change not only the lives of individuals, but transform the health of populations.