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Tazemetostat Shows Meaningful Response Rates in R/R FL
Data from a phase 2 study in Japan indicate tazemetostat, a selective, reversible, small-molecular inhibitor of the histone methyltransferase enzyme enhancer of zest homolog 2 (EZH2), shows efficacy in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma (FL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL; Cancer Sci. 2021; 112(9):3627-3635.)
“In this multicenter, open-label study we assessed the efficacy and safety of tazemetostat in Japanese patients with R/R FL and DLBCL harboring the EZH2 mutation,” explained Koji Izutsu, MD, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan, and co-authors.
A total of 20 patients were enrolled to the trial and received tazemetostat (800 mg twice daily) orally on a 28-day cycle until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Overall, there were 17 patients with FL enrolled to cohort 1, and 3 patients with DLBCL were enrolled to cohort 2.
The objective response rate (ORR) in cohort 1 was 76.5% with 6 patients who had a complete response (CR) and 7 had a partial response (PR). All 3 patients in cohort 2 experienced a PR.
“In cohort 1, median progression-free survival (PFS) was not reached at the median follow-up of 12.9 months. The estimated PFS rate at 12 and 15 months was 94.1% and 73.2%, respectively,” continued Dr Izutsu and co-researchers.
The most common grade 3 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) was lymphopenia in 2 patients. Grade 4 AEs included hypertriglyceridemia and pneumonia aspiration, which were reported to be unrelated to tazemetostat.
“Tazemetostat 800 mg twice daily showed encouraging efficacy in patients with R/R EZH2 mutation-positive FL with a manageable safety profile in the overall population. Thus, tazemetostat could be a potentional treatment for R/R EZH2 mutation-positive FL,” concluded Dr Izutsu, et al.—Alexa Stoia
