Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Brentuximab Vedotin for Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma and Systemic Anaplastic Large-Cell Lymphoma

Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is an antibody–drug conjugate that has demonstrated effectiveness as a monotherapy for patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma and systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma via several clinical trials. Salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been performed as a second- or later-line regimen for improving the survival of patients with lymphoma. In particular, the effectiveness of autologous HSCT and the importance of achieving a complete response prior to autologous HSCT are established in Hodgkin lymphoma. Several clinical trials have reported that salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous HSCT showed high response rates, although significant treatment-related hematological toxicity was observed. In the present article, we review clinical reports for assessing the efficacy and safety of relatively less toxic BV as a bridging therapy before HSCT or as a consolidation therapy post-HSCT in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma or systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. Generally, the reported BV regimens seem to be effective and well tolerated in such patients, and no significant influence of BV treatment is noted on hematopoietic stem cell harvest before HSCT. Large-scale clinical studies and long-term follow-up are expected to establish the safety and efficacy of these regimens.