Dr. Wang on Triplet Vorinostat Regimen in Newly Diagnosed MCL

Michael Wang, MD, professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data from a phase I/II study looking at the use a triplet regimen of vorinostat (Zolinza), cladribine (Mavenclad), and rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

This single-arm study saw an overall response rate of 97% and complete response of 80% in the 39 patients with newly diagnosed MCL who participated, explains Wang. The results of the study are promising, says Wang, but require further investigation with a larger patient pool.

Vorinostat has been previously studied in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Studies have shown that vorinostat as a single agent has lower a response rate at around 20% to 30%; however, these phase I/II data in newly diagnosed MCL demonstrates vorinostat works well in combination with cladribine and rituximab, concludes Wang.