Spotlight on polatuzumab vedotin: new standards for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma?

Abstract

Despite continuous improvements in the management and treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), approximately 35% of the patients experience relapse or are refractory to frontline chemotherapy. For these patients, outcomes are far from satisfactory, and a real unmet need exists to both improve frontline treatment and create better options for relapsed/refractory disease. Polatuzumab vedotin is an anti-CD79b antibody conjugated to the monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) microtubule inhibitor. The molecule has recently been under the spotlights for the promising results of the frontline combination with rituximab cyclophosphamide doxorubicin and prednisone (R-CHP) in the phase III POLARIX study, demonstrating improved progression-free survival over standard R-CHOP. A remarkable improvement in terms of complete response rate and overall survival with polatuzumab vedotin has also been achieved by combining polatuzumab with rituximab and bendamustine (pola-BR) over the standard BR for relapsed/refractory patients. Based on the results of these studies, health authorities in several countries granted approval for polatuzumab vedotin both for patients with previously untreated and for relapsed/refractory DLBCL. In this review, we summarize the data of major studies recently concluded with polatuzumab vedotin, and we provide an overview of the ongoing combination trials for frontline and relapsed/refractory DLBCL, outlining reported toxicities.