Dr. Matasar on the Efficacy of Copanlisib Plus Rituximab in Indolent NHL

Matthew J. Matasar, MD, a medical oncologist and Regional Care Network Medical Site Director at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Bergen, discusses the efficacy of copanlisib (Aliqopa) plus rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with relapsed indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL).

In the phase 3 CHRONOS-3 trial (NCT02367040), the combination was compared with placebo plus rituximab. The primary end point of the trial was to identify an improvement in progression-free survival (PFS), which was met, according to Matasar. After pooling data from the indolent B-cell histologies that were included in the study, investigators observed a net improvement in median PFS, going from 13.8 months with rituximab plus placebo to 21.5 months with copanlisib plus rituximab; this finding was statistically and clinically significant, Matasar says. 

Additionally, benefit was observed across the different histologic subtypes examined, including follicular lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma, and small lymphocytic lymphoma. A numerical improvement was also observed in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma; however, this did not achieve statistical significance, possibly due to the small number of patients in this subgroup. Improvements in the overall response rate and complete response rate were also reported with the combination, in the pooled histologies and individual histologies, Matasar concludes.