Carfilzomib plus rituximab, ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide (C-RICE) led to higher response, OS, and PFS in patients with transplant-eligible relapsed or refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Abstract

7042 Background: The CORAL study highlighted the need to develop novel salvage regimens for R/Rr/r DLBCL previously treated with R+CHOP. Overall response rate (ORR) to second line immuno-chemotherapy was 51% with a 3-year progression free survival (PFS) of 30% following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell support (HDC-ASCS). Optimal disease control (complete remission [CR] or partial remission [PR]) prior to HDC-ADCS and more recently to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T), correlates with improved outcomes. Dysregulation of Bcl-2 family members has been associated with acquired resistance to rituximab and chemotherapy which we have previously shown may be mitigated by co-treatment with proteasome inhibition in pre-clinical model. Subsequently, we conducted a Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of CRICE as salvage therapy for R/R DLBCL (Blood Adv. 2023 7:1146-1155). Methods: Here we retrospectively compared the clinical outcomes of R/R DLBCL patients treated with CRICE (N=28) versus RICE (N=38) on our prior clinical trial (NCT01959698). Demographic, clinical, and pathological characteristics were collected for both groups (Table). Study endpoints consisted of differences in overall response rate (ORR), CR/PR rates, median progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between the two cohorts. Results: The addition of Carfilzomib to RICE resulted in improved clinical outcomes. A higher ORR (92.9 vs 76.3, P=0.073) and CR rates (82.1 vs. 44.7, P=0.002) were observed in CRICE vs. RICE treated patients. Multivariate analysis confirmed the higher CR rates in CRICE vs. RICE when adjusted by DLBCL subtype (GCB vs. nNon-GCB, P=0.003). More CRICE patients proceeded to HDC-ASCS (52.6% vs. 47.4%, P=0.618). The 3yr PFS rate was higher in CRICE (54%, 32-72%) vs. RICE treated patients (35%, 19-51%). While the median PFS was longer in CRICE treated patients 36.8m (0.8, 73.2) vs. 3.2m (0.5, 54.2) (RICE), it did not reach statistical significance (P=0.714). No differences in OS were observed between CRICE & RICE patients, median OS 67.3m vs. 71.8m. Conclusions: The CRICE outcomes were more striking in patients with non-GCB r/r DLBCL (ORR 85%, mPFS and OS not reached). CRICE led to high CR rates and longer PFS among r/r DLBCL patients, especially in non-GCB DLBCL patients. CRICE could be an attractive regimen to achieve disease control in r/r DLBCL patients undergoing consolidation therapy with HDC-ASCT or CAR T-cell therapy. [Table: see text]