Post-marketing surveillance of the safety and effectiveness of nivolumab for classic Hodgkin lymphoma in Japan

Nivolumab was approved for relapsed/refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) in Japan in 2016.

After its approval, a prospective, non-interventional, observational post-marketing surveillance was initiated to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of nivolumab treatment for up to 12 months in patients with relapsed/refractory cHL.

Of 304 registered patients, 288 were included in safety analyses and 282 in effectiveness analyses.

There were 191 (66.3%) male patients, median age was 64.0 years, and 54 patients (18.8%) had performance status ≥ 2.

Treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were reported in 183 (63.5%) patients, with grade 3–5 TRAEs in 86 (29.9%).

The most common TRAEs were infusion reaction (14.6%), hepatic function abnormal (5.9%), interstitial lung disease (ILD) (5.6%), and hypothyroidism (5.2%).

TRAEs of special interest in ≥ 5% of patients were infusion reaction (15.6%), hepatic failure/hepatic dysfunction/hepatitis/cholangitis sclerosing (13.2%), thyroid dysfunction (9.7%), and ILD (7.3%).

In multivariable analyses, prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was a risk factor for hepatic failure/hepatic dysfunction/hepatitis/cholangitis sclerosing, and prior thyroid gland disorders was a risk factor for thyroid dysfunction.

The overall response rate was 61.7%.

In conclusion, nivolumab showed a similar safety profile and comparable effectiveness to that reported in clinical trials for relapsed/refractory cHL (CheckMate 205, ONO-4538-15).