Treatment with polatuzumab vedotin combined with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (Pola-R-CHP) significantly improves progression-free survival compared to rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R‑CHOP) in the Asian population with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) as it does in the global population.
The safety of Pola-R-CHP in the Asian population is also consistent with that seen in the global population.
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These are the findings of subpopulation analyses of Asian patients with DLBCL treated in the phase 3 POLARIX trial, published in Blood.
The multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is comparing the safety and efficacy of Pola-R-CHP and R-CHOP in 1000 previously untreated patients with DLBCL, 18 to 80 years of age. The study recruited participants in 243 locations including the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, and China.
The results of the present analysis showed that in 281 Asian patients who were treated as part of the trial, the 2-year progression-free survival rates were 74.2% with Pola-R-CHP and 66.5% with R-CHOP.
Safety was comparable between the 2 treatments. For example, the rate of grade 3 to 4 adverse events was 72.9% with Pola-R-CHP vs 66.2% with R-CHOP, the rate of serious adverse events was 32.9% with Pola-R-CHP vs 32.4% with R-CHOP, and the rate of grade 5 adverse events was 1.4% with Pola-R-CHP vs 0.7% with R-CHOP. The rates of adverse events leading to study discontinuation and peripheral neuropathy were also similar between the 2 groups at 5% vs 7.2% and 44.3% vs 50.4%, respectively.
“These findings demonstrate consistent efficacy and safety of Pola-R-CHP versus R‑CHOP in the Asian and global populations in POLARIX,” the authors of the study concluded.
References
Song Y, Tilly H, Rai S, et al. Polatuzumab vedotin in previously untreated DLBCL: an Asia subpopulation analysis from the phase 3 POLARIX trial. Blood. Published online January 10, 2023. doi:10.1182/blood.2022017734
A study comparing the efficacy and safety of polatuzumab vedotin with rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHP) versus rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) in participants with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (POLARIX). ClinicalTrials.gov. September 7, 2017. Updated November 25, 2022. Accessed January 26, 2023.
