New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Treatment regimen for aggressive blood cancer

Date:
May 1, 2025
Source:
Mass General Brigham
Summary:
Study data reveal how a specific sequence of cancer therapies can improve outcomes for patients with hard-to-treat lymphomas.
Share:
FULL STORY

Study data reveal how a specific sequence of cancer therapies can improve outcomes for patients with hard-to-treat lymphomas

Relapsed/refractory (R/R) mature T and natural killer (NK)-cell lymphomas (TNKL) are aggressive blood cancers often resistant to frontline therapies. A team of Mass General Brigham researchers found that patients with these lymphomas had improved survival rates when treated with small molecule inhibitors as second-line therapy, followed by epigenetic modifiers as third-line therapy. Results of the study are published in the British Journal of Haematology.

"Our robust study design, multiple stability analyses, and independent machine learning models using the PETAL global dataset, all pointed to the same conclusion: targeted therapies and epigenetic modifiers consistently showed benefit over chemotherapy for patients with relapsed/refractory T-cell/NK-cell lymphomas," said lead author Mark Sorial, PharmD, BCOP, a researcher in the Mass General Cancer Center, a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system.

RR TNKLs are notoriously difficult to treat, and patients living with these cancers have poor prognoses. To date, there is no established treatment protocol for this condition. Instead, health professionals must choose among several second-line options such as cytotoxic chemotherapies, epigenetic modifiers, and small molecule inhibitors, without clear evidence to guide their decision-making.

Led by senior author and founding member of the PETAL consortium, Salvia Jain, MD, at MGH, PETAL Investigators performed a retrospective sequential treatment cohort study using data from the Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PETAL) Consortium including patients who first received upfront cytotoxic chemotherapy. Sorial then sorted patient data based on those who received second- and third-line treatments, including chemotherapy again, epigenetic modifiers, or small molecule inhibitors, analyzing overall survival across treatment groups. The study ultimately compared 12 possible treatment paths for second- and third-line therapies with 540 and 290 patients receiving second and third-line therapies, respectively.

Study outcomes showed that using small molecule inhibitors as second-line therapies followed by epigenetic modifiers significantly improved survival compared to other sequences. Survival benefits were especially pronounced among high-risk groups and patients with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

"These results support the earlier use of these novel therapies, prioritize further research of these drug classes, and provide a framework for examining survival effects with sequential treatments in other cancers," said Sorial. "They also highlight that targeted signaling inhibitors like duvelisib warrant ongoing clinical investigation in this patient population with limited treatment options."

Cancer research is a foundational pillar in the care we provide patients at Mass General Brigham. Research, along with the power of the system's strengths in innovation, education, and community engagement, will allow Mass General Brigham Cancer to deliver integrated cancer care for all, putting health equity at the center of that support. The vision is to provide a comprehensive, integrated and research-informed approach to cancer care, helping patients navigate their entire journey of care, from prevention and early detection to treatment and survivorship.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Mass General Brigham. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Mark N. Sorial, Jessy Xinyi Han, Min Jung Koh, Leora Boussi, Sijia Li, Rui Duan, Junwei Lu, Matthew M. Lei, Caroline T. MacVicar, Jessica Freydman, Jack Malespini, Kenechukwu N. Aniagboso, Sean M. McCabe, Luke Peng, Shambhavi Singh, Makoto Iwasaki, Ijeoma Julie Eche‐Ugwu, Judith Gabler, Maria J. Fernandez Turizo, Aditya Garg, Alexander Disciullo, Kusha Chopra, Josie Ford, Alexandra Lenart, Emmanuel Nwodo, Jeffrey Barnes, Min Ji Koh, Eliana Miranda, Carlos Chiattone, Robert Stuver, Mwanasha Merrill, Eric Jacobsen, Martina Manni, Monica Civallero, Tetiana Skrypets, Athina Lymboussaki, Massimo Federico, Yuri Kim, Jin Seok Kim, Jae Yong Cho, Thomas Eipe, Tanuja Shet, Sridhar Epari, Alok Shetty, Saswata Saha, Hasmukh Jain, Manju Sengar, Carrie Van Der Weyden, Henry Miles Prince, Ramzi Hamouche, Tinatin Murdashvili, Francine Foss, Marianna Gentilini, Beatrice Casadei, Pier Luigi Zinzani, Takeshi Okatani, Noriaki Yoshida, Sang Eun Yoon, Won‐Seog Kim, Girisha Panchoo, Zainab Mohamed, Estelle Verburgh, Jackielyn Cuenca Alturas, Mubarak Al‐Mansour, Maria Elena Cabrera, Amy Ku, Govind Bhagat, Helen Ma, Ahmed Sawas, Khyati Maulik Kariya, Forum Bhanushali, Arushi Meharwal, Dhruv Mistry, Maria Kosovsky, Mesrob Yeterian, Owen A. O'Connor, Enrica Marchi, Changyu Shen, Devavrat Shah, Salvia Jain. Forecasting optimal treatments in relapsed/refractory mature T‐ and NK‐cell lymphomas: A global PETAL Consortium study. British Journal of Haematology, 2025; DOI: 10.1111/bjh.20063

Cite This Page:

Mass General Brigham. "Treatment regimen for aggressive blood cancer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 May 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250501121957.htm>.
Mass General Brigham. (2025, May 1). Treatment regimen for aggressive blood cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 4, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250501121957.htm
Mass General Brigham. "Treatment regimen for aggressive blood cancer." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250501121957.htm (accessed May 4, 2025).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES