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Lenalidomide: A Review in Previously Treated Follicular Lymphoma

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Abstract

Lenalidomide (Revlimid®) is a targeted immunomodulatory drug with multiple mechanisms of action. In the USA and the EU, oral lenalidomide is indicated in combination with rituximab or a rituximab product for the treatment of patients with previously treated follicular lymphoma. In the pivotal, phase III AUGMENT trial, lenalidomide + rituximab significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS; primary endpoint) relative to placebo + rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with the PFS benefit appearing to be specific to patients with follicular lymphoma and extending to elderly patients with this subtype. Lenalidomide + rituximab also demonstrated activity in an interim analysis of the phase III MAGNIFY trial in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including those with rituximab-refractory disease. Lenalidomide had an acceptable tolerability profile. Although grade 3 or 4 neutropenia occurred more frequently with lenalidomide + rituximab than with placebo + rituximab, this was generally well managed with dosage adjustments and growth factor support. In conclusion, lenalidomide in combination with rituximab represents an important new treatment option for previously treated follicular lymphoma, including patients whose disease has become refractory to rituximab.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of lenalidomide 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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    Hannah A. Blair

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  1. Hannah A. Blair
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Correspondence to Hannah A. Blair.

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

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H. Blair is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to the review and are responsible for the article content.

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for this Adis Drug Evaluation can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12762095.

The manuscript was reviewed by: D. Dierickx, Department of Hematology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; S. Gonzalez, Hematology, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, Santander, Spain; P. Scheinberg, Division of Hematology, Hospital A Beneficencia Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

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Blair, H.A. Lenalidomide: A Review in Previously Treated Follicular Lymphoma. Drugs 80, 1337–1344 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-020-01381-1

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