**Roche has shared new long-term results from a phase 3 study of its anti-CD79b antibody-drug conjugate Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin) in patients with untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), an aggressive form of blood cancer.**
Data from a five-year follow-up of the phase 3 POLARIX trial evaluating Polivy in combination with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisone (R-CHP) were presented at this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting.
DLBCL is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with approximately 160,000 cases of the disease diagnosed globally every year.
Despite DLBCL being generally responsive to treatment in the front-line, as many as 40% of patients will relapse or have refractory disease, at which time salvage therapy options are limited and prognosis is poor. This, according to Roche, underscores the importance of improving treatments earlier in the course of the disease and providing alternative options.
Polivy in combination with R-CHP is already approved as a first-line treatment for DLBCL in more than 90 countries globally, including the US, EU and UK.
An exploratory analysis of POLARIX indicated a positive overall survival trend in favour of Polivy plus R-CHP compared to rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (R-CHOP) after five-years.
Results demonstrated a trend in reduction in the risk of death for patients treated with the Polivy combination, an improvement on the three-year follow-up data, with an additional two years of follow-up planned.
Benefits in progression-free and disease-free survival with Polivy plus R-CHP were maintained, and the latest follow-up data showed a numerical reduction in death related to patients’ lymphoma in those treated with the Polivy combination compared to those receiving R-CHOP.
An observational analysis also showed that almost 25% fewer follow-up treatments were needed in patients receiving the Polivy combination compared to those in the R-CHOP arm.
Levi Garraway, Roche’s chief medical officer and head of global product development, said: “POLARIX was the first trial to elevate treatment standards for front-line DLBCL in 20 years and we are additionally encouraged by the five-year follow-up results.
“More than 38,000 people worldwide have been treated with Polivy in combination with R-CHP and this data continues to underscore its potential to improve outcomes for people diagnosed with this aggressive lymphoma.”