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Obinutuzumab: A Review in Rituximab-Refractory or -Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma

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Abstract

Obinutuzumab (Gazyva®, Gazyvaro®) is a recombinant, monoclonal, humanized and glycoengineered, type II, anti-CD20, IgG1 antibody. It has recently been granted an additional indication for the treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma who relapsed after, or are refractory to, a rituximab-containing regimen. In the primary analysis of the large, phase III GADOLIN study, induction therapy with obinutuzumab plus bendamustine followed by obinutuzumab maintenance prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) to a statistically significant extent relative to induction with bendamustine monotherapy in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (iNHL). The improvement in PFS was largely driven by the subgroup of patients with follicular lymphoma, who also had prolonged overall survival (OS) in a planned updated analysis. Obinutuzumab had a generally manageable tolerability profile in these patients; mild to moderate infusion-related reactions (IRRs) were the most common treatment-emergent adverse events (AEs) and neutropenia the most common grade 3 or 4 treatment-related AEs. Although additional studies and longer-term data are needed to further assess treatment benefits with obinutuzumab, current evidence indicates that obinutuzumab is a useful treatment option for patients with rituximab-refractory or -relapsed follicular lymphoma.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of obinutuzumab (Gazyva®, Gazyvaro®) was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Sohita Dhillon

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  1. Sohita Dhillon
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Correspondence to Sohita Dhillon.

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

Conflict of Interest

Sohita Dhillon is a salaried employee of Adis/Springer, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

The manuscript was reviewed by: J. O. Armitage, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; A. K. Nooka , Department of Hematology and Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; R. Pettengell, St. George’s University of London, London, UK; U. Vitolo, Hematology Unit, Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Turin, Italy.

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Dhillon, S. Obinutuzumab: A Review in Rituximab-Refractory or -Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma. Targ Oncol 12, 255–262 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11523-017-0485-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11523-017-0485-6

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