Dr. Kahl on the Utility of Tafasitamab/Lenalidomide in DLBCL

Brad S. Kahl, MD, a medical oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center and a professor of medicine in the Division of Oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses the utility of tafasitamab (MOR208, formerly Xmab®5574) combined with lenalidomide (Revlimid) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who are ineligible for CAR T-cell therapy.

If a patient is being treated with CAR T-cell therapy, they are being treated in a curative mindset, according to Kahl. However, many patients cannot receive CAR T-cell therapy because their disease is not under control, adds Kahl. Other patients are not appropriate for CAR T-cell therapy and some patients relapse after treatment with this modality. All these patients would be appropriate for the combination of tafasitamab and lenalidomide, says Kahl.

Polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy) in combination with bendamustine and rituximab (Rituxan) received regulatory approval from the FDA and is also used in relapsed/refractory DLBCL. These 2 regimens have not been examined head-to-head, which makes it difficult to know how they compare with one another, says Kahl. However, the response rates observed with these regimens appear to be similar.

With regard to durability, tafasitamab/lenalidomide might be a bit better on paper, adds Kahl; the combination would also be better tolerated by most patients versus a polatuzumab-based therapy. For those reasons, it is possible that many investigators would opt for the tafasitamab/lenalidomide combination as their regimen of choice for patients in this setting, concludes Kahl.