
"I am glad that taking part in a trial might help others on their own cancer journey.”
This trial looked at lenalidomide for diffuse large B cell lymphoma that has continued to grow during treatment, or come back after treatment.
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is one of the most common types of high grade non Hodgkin lymphoma. When this trial was done, doctors commonly used a combination of chemotherapy and a drug called rituximab. This combination is called R-CHOP.
If the lymphoma does not go away, or comes back after treatment, doctors may use other chemotherapy drugs to treat DLBCL.
Lenalidomide (Revlimid) is a treatment that affects how the immune system works. The researchers wanted to find out if lenalidomide may be useful to treat DLBCL.
We already knew from research that there are 2 distinct sub types of DLBCL. They are called:
The research team analysed the lymphoma cells of the people who took part in this trial to see which type they had. They then compared how well treatment worked for people in each group.
The aims of this trial were to:
This trial showed that lenalidomide did work for people with diffuse large B cell lymphoma. They found it worked better for people non GCB lymphoma.
This trial was open for people to join between 2010 and 2013, and the research team published the results in 2017.
Results
Just over 100 people with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) had treatment as part of this trial. They had already had other treatment, but either it hadn’t worked or their lymphoma had come back.
The people taking part were put into 1 of 2 groups at random, and:
How well treatment worked
The research team looked at how many people’s lymphoma either went away or got a bit better, and found it was:
They also looked at how long it was before the lymphoma started to grow again. When they looked at people with non GCB lymphoma they found it was:
The research team also looked at the genes in the lymphoma cells of some of the people who took part, after they’d had treatment. They found that lenalidomide had worked better for people with activated B cell like (ABC) lymphoma. But more research needs to be done in this area.
Side effects
Everyone taking part had a least 1 side effect. Some were mild, but just over half the people in each group had a side effect that was serious.
The most common side effects of standard treatment included:
The most common side effects of lenalidomide included:
Conclusion
The research team concluded that lenalidomide worked for both types of DLBCL, but worked better for non germinal center B cell (non GCB) lymphoma.
They recommend that other trials are done to find out more about how well it works for the different genetic sub groups.
Where this information comes from
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed) and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Prof David Cunningham
Celgene Corporation
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
Freephone 0808 800 4040
"I am glad that taking part in a trial might help others on their own cancer journey.”