In the mantle cell lymphoma (MCL)-002 study, lenalidomide demonstrated significantly improved median progression-free survival (PFS) compared with investigator's choice (IC) in patients with relapsed/refractory MCL. Here we present the long-term follow-up data and results of preplanned subgroup exploratory analyses from MCL-002 to evaluate the potential impact of demographic factors, baseline clinical characteristics and prior therapies on PFS.
In MCL-002, patients with relapsed/refractory MCL were randomized 2:1 to receive lenalidomide (25 mg/day orally on days 1-21; 28-day cycles) or single-agent IC therapy (rituximab, gemcitabine, fludarabine, chlorambucil or cytarabine). The intent-to-treat population comprised 254 patients (lenalidomide, n = 170; IC, n = 84).
Subgroup analyses of PFS favoured lenalidomide over IC across most characteristics, including risk factors, such as high MCL International Prognostic Index score, age GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO65 years, high lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), stage III/IV disease, high tumour burden, and refractoriness to last prior therapy. By multivariate Cox regression analysis, factors associated with significantly longer PFS (other than lenalidomide treatment) included normal LDH levels (P < 0.001), nonbulky disease (P = 0.045), <3 prior antilymphoma treatments (P = 0.005), and GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO6 months since last prior treatment (P = 0.032).
Overall, lenalidomide improved PFS versus single-agent IC therapy in patients with relapsed/refractory MCL, irrespective of many demographic factors, disease characteristics and prior treatment history.