Combination of brentuximab-vedotin with skin-directed therapies extends the time to the next therapeutic line in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is a potent therapeutic option for CD30-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Unlike existing studies, BV and other therapeutic procedures were frequently combined for our patients. In this context, the study aims to analyze the effectiveness and safety of BV in a real-world setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective monocentric study analyzing treatment outcomes for patients with CD30-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma treated with BV. RESULTS: 26 patients (median age: 67 years) were included in the study. Patients were treated with 1.8 or 1.2 mg/kg b.w. Complete remission (CR) was reached in 30.8 % of the patients, and the objective response rate (ORR) was 84.6 %. Side effects were seen in 19 of the 26 patients. As a reaction to progressive disease (PD) under BV monotherapy, we included skin-directed procedures such as tumor excision, local radiotherapy, and PUVA for six patients. We re-stabilized the disease and maintained the line of therapy without additional toxicities for a median of seven months longer using this concept. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of skin-directed therapies (SDT) after disease progression under BV monotherapy could stabilize the disease's continuous advancement or even lead to partial response, thereby extending the time until the next therapeutic escalation.