Brentuximab vedotin for treatment of relapsed or refractory malignant lymphoma: results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies

BACKGROUND Recently, brentuximab vedotin has become a promising therapeutic approach for CD30-positive hematological malignancies, but its role in other relapsed or refractory malignant lymphoma needs to be proven. Brentuximab vedotin was demonstrated effective, but no study has summarized the concrete effect of brentuximab vedotin in malignant lymphoma. To truly know the role of brentuximab vedotin, we performed a systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis of all known prospective trials, to assess the value of brentuximab vedotin for patients with relapsed and refractory malignant lymphoma. METHODS AND MATERIALS This was a systematic review of publications indexed in the PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and ISI Web of Knowledge performed on February 10, 2015. Six studies, including 302 patients were identified. Meta-analyses were carried out to calculate the objective response rate (ORR), complete response rate (CRR), and partial response rate (PRR) of brentuximab vedotin for malignant lymphoma. RESULTS In patients with malignant lymphoma, ORR was 0.61, CRR was 0.38, and PRR was 0.51. High heterogeneity between studies was observed, and funnel plots were not symmetrical, which means that publication bias existed. Brentuximab vedotin was generally well-tolerated by patients reported in the included studies; adverse effects also occurred, but they were considered manageable. CONCLUSION Our analysis revealed a promising benefit of brentuximab vedotin in the treatment of relapsed and refractory malignant lymphoma. Larger sample of randomized controlled clinical trials are needed in the future.