Treatment Outcomes Were Unchanged by Brentuximab Vedotin (BV)-induced Peripheral Neuropathy

Brentuximab vedotin (BV)-induced peripheral neuropathy is a significant adverse event (AE) and clinicians are tasked with managing this AE and maintaining treatment benefit for their patients. Research presented at the 2017 Cancer Survivorship Symposium indicated that while peripheral neuropathy caused changes in therapy, it did not affect patient outcomes in the studied cohort.¹

The researchers conducted a survey where patients reported that the benefits of treatment with BV outweighed the risks. All patients who responded to the open-ended survey reported satisfaction with having received BV in spite of peripheral neuropathy. These findings highlight the need for peripheral neuropathy awareness and patient education when using BV to treat Hodgkin lymphoma and other CD30+ lymphomas.

In this study, researchers examined predictors of peripheral neuropathy, the effect on outcomes, and the psychosocial aspects of peripheral neuropathy.

The researchers examined 89 patients with lymphoma at a single institute who received BV between January 2010 and May 2016. Of these, 56% were men, 54% had Hodgkin lymphoma, 71% had received prior neurotoxic medications, and 93% received single-agent BV.

Overall survival (not reached vs 26 months, P = .11) and progression-free survival (6 vs 12 months, P = .09) were not different in patients whose BV therapy was changed due to peripheral neuropathy (21 patients [24%]).

Median number of BV doses was 5. Almost half of patients (43 [48%]) developed peripheral neuropathy and it resolved in 14 (33%) patients at 12 months follow-up. Median time to resolution of peripheral neuropathy was 13 weeks.

Disease response to BV, number of BV doses, and cumulative dose of BV were all predictive of the development of peripheral neuropathy (P < .001). Univariate analysis assessed the correlation between possible predictors and peripheral neuropathy.

Neither age, sex, previous neurotoxic agent exposure, underlying neuropathy, diabetes mellitus, nor body mass index increased the risk for developing peripheral neuropathy from BV treatment.

Reference

1. Nagle S, Strelec LE, Loren AW, et al. Brentuximab-induced peripheral neuropathy: risk factors and patient experiences. Paper presented at: 2017 Cancer Survivorship Symposium; January 27-28, 2017; San Diego, California. Abstract 120.