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Outcomes of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma receiving Brentuximab Vedotin (BV) as maintenance therapy after ASCT according to previous exposure to BV. A retrospective analysis of the EBMT Lymphoma Working Party in collaboration with GELTAMO, FIL, LYSA, and Turkish Lymphoma Group

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 60, pages 879–887 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

We evaluated brentuximab vedotin (BV) as maintenance therapy after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in 353 patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Of these, 52.6% received BV prior to ASCT. The five-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) from the start of BV maintenance were 85.1% and 69.9%, respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that age at ASCT (HR 1.17, P = 0.037), disease status (HR 3.61, P = 0.002), and BV treatment before ASCT (HR 0.40, P = 0.033) significantly impacted OS. Disease status at ASCT was the only factor significantly associated with PFS (HR 3.09, p < 0.001) and relapse risk (HR 3.33, p < 0.001). Although a trend toward improved PFS (HR 0.59, p = 0.053) and lower relapse risk (HR 0.57, p = 0.051) was observed in patients treated with BV before ASCT, the data were not statistically significant. Patients in complete remission (CR) at ASCT showed similar 2-year OS (94.6% vs. 99.2%, P = 0.3) and PFS (84.6% vs. 89%, P = 0.3) regardless of BV pre-transplant. In those not in CR, OS (83.1% vs. 93.6%, P = 0.076) and PFS (51.5% vs. 75.3%, P = 0.039) were higher in those previously treated with BV. This large study emphasizes BV maintenance post-ASCT, even in patients pre-treated with BV, ang highlights disease status as a key prognostic factor.

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Fig. 1: Survival outcomes.
Fig. 2: Survival outcomes according to disease status at ASCT (CR vs. No-CR).
Fig. 3: Survival outcomes in patients treated or not with BV before ASCT.
Fig. 4: Survival outcomes.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hematology Department, Institute of Cancer and Hematological Diseases (ICAMS), IDIBAPS, Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Carmen Martínez

  2. EBMT LWP Paris Office Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris, France

    Irma Khvedelidze, Mathilde Fekom & Jaques-Emmanuel Galimard

  3. Department of Hematology, Cochin Hospital, AP-HP, Paris, France

    Benedicte Deau Fischer

  4. Hôpital Prive Ambroise Pare Hartamnn, Neuilly, France

    Benedicte Deau Fischer

  5. INSERM UMR U1163—Imagine Institute, Paris, France

    Amira Marouf

  6. Department of Hematology, Hospices Civils de Lyon, CHU Lyon-Sud, Pierre-Bénite, France

    Hervé Ghesquières

  7. Department of Hematology, Strasbourg University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

    Luc-Mathieu Fornecker

  8. Hematology Department, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy

    Francesco Merli

  9. Struttura Complessa di Ematologia, Dipartimento Strutturale di Medicina Interna. Presidio Ospedaliero di Treviso, AULSS2 Marca Trevigiana, Turin, Italy

    Piero Maria Stefani

  10. Hematology Department, Jules Bordet Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium

    Fulvio Massaro

  11. Hematology Department AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy

    Barbara Botto

  12. Koç University Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Istanbul, Turkey; V.K.V. American Hospital Division of Hematology, İstanbul, Turkey

    Burhan Ferhanoğlu

  13. Koç University Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Istanbul, Turkey

    Olga Meltem Akay

  14. Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Istanbul, Turkey

    Murat Özbalak

  15. Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Málaga, Spain

    Manuel Espeso de Haro

  16. Hospital Universitario La Fe, Valencia, Spain

    Samuel Romero

  17. Department of Haematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Helios Clinic, Berlin-Buch, Germany

    Bertram Glass

  18. Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon

    Ali Bazarbachi

  19. Hematology Department, Institut Català d’Oncologia Hospitalet, IDIBELL, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Sureda

Authors
  1. Carmen Martínez
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  2. Irma Khvedelidze
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Contributions

CM and AS conceived and designed the study; CM interpreted the statistical results and wrote the manuscript; IK collected and assembled data; MF performed the statistical analysis and interpreted the results; and CM, IK, MF, BDF, AM, HG, LMF, FM, PMS, FM, BB, BF, OMA, MÖ, MEH, SR, JEG, BG, AB, AS are physicians from LWP-EBMT centers who performed the transplants, took care of the patients, collected local data of patients, and made significant contributions to the discussion of the results. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carmen Martínez.

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Competing interests

C. Martínez declares participation in Scientific Takeda Advisory Board. I. Khvedelidze declares no conflict of interest. M. Fekom declares no conflict of interest. B. Deau Fischer declares participation in Scientific Takeda and Abbvie Advisory board. A. Marouf declares no conflict of interest. H. Ghesquières declares Roche, BMS, Takeda consultancy; Honoraria: Gilead, Roche, BMS, Abbvie, Takeda. L.M. Fornecker declares no conflict of interest. F. Merli declares Honoraria/Advisory Board: Beigene, Gilead, Incyte, Janssen, Novartis, Roche, Sandoz, Takeda, Astrazeneca. P. M. Stefani declares participation in Advisory Board: Takeda, Roche, Janssen-Cilag, Incyte. Kiowa Kirin Gilead. F. Massaro declares no conflict of interest. B. Botto declares Takeda Speakers Bureau participation. B. Ferhanoğlu declares no conflict of interest. O. Meltem Akay declares no conflict of interest. M. Özbalak declares no conflict of interest. M. Espeso de Haro declares Research Funding: Pfizer; Advisory Board: Roche, Janssen, Abbvie, Kite, Takeda, Celgene. S. Romero declares no conflict of interest. J.E. Galimard declares no conflict of interest. B. Glass declares Roche, Consultancy, Membership on an entity’s Board ofDirectors or advisory committees, and Research Funding; Gilead, Consultancy and Membership on an entity’s Board ofDirectors or advisory committees; BMS, Consultancy and Membership on an entity’s Board ofDirectors or advisory committees; Miltenyi, Consultancy; Abbvie, Consultancy; Sobie, Consultancy; JAZZ, Honoraria. A. Bazarbachi declares Research support: Takeda, Novartis, Jansen, Roche and Pfizer; Honoraria: Takeda, Amgen, Caribou, Jansen, Roche. A. Sureda declares Takeda Honoraria, Membership on an entity’s Board of Directors or advisory committees and SpeakersBureau; Roche, Honoraria; Novartis, Honoraria and Membership on an entity’s Board ofDirectors or advisory committees; Janssen, Honoraria and Membership on an entity’s Board ofDirectors or advisory committees; BMS, Honoraria and Membership on an entity’s Board ofDirectors or advisory committees.

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Martínez, C., Khvedelidze, I., Fekom, M. et al. Outcomes of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma receiving Brentuximab Vedotin (BV) as maintenance therapy after ASCT according to previous exposure to BV. A retrospective analysis of the EBMT Lymphoma Working Party in collaboration with GELTAMO, FIL, LYSA, and Turkish Lymphoma Group. Bone Marrow Transplant 60, 879–887 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-025-02568-4

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