Safety and efficacyof the combination of copanlisib and nivolumab in patients with Richter’s transformation or transformed non-Hodgkin lymphoma: results from a phase I trial

Despite advances in targeted and cellular therapies, outcomes for patients with Richter’s transformation (RT) and transformed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (tNHL) remain dismal. In this study we report safety and efficacy of the combination of the selective, small molecule inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-ki...

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Main Authors: Geoffrey Shouse, Canping Chen, Alexandra Muir, Leslie Popplewell, Tanya Siddiqi, Jasmine Zain, Alex F. Herrera, Olga Danilova, Carly Roleder, Lili Wang, Stephen E.F. Spurgeon, Adam S. Kittai, Lu Chen, Zheng Xia, Matthew S. Davids, Alexey V. Danilov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ferrata Storti Foundation 2025-07-01
Series:Haematologica
Online Access:https://haematologica.org/article/view/12148
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Summary:Despite advances in targeted and cellular therapies, outcomes for patients with Richter’s transformation (RT) and transformed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (tNHL) remain dismal. In this study we report safety and efficacy of the combination of the selective, small molecule inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase copanlisib, with the anti-PD-1 antibody nivolumab from a phase 1 multicenter investigator-sponsored study. Twenty-seven adult patients with relapsed and/or refractory RT or tNHL were treated with escalating doses of copanlisib IV on days 1, 8, and 15 (dose level [DL] 1-45 mg, DL2-60 mg) combined with nivolumab 240 mg IV on days 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Three dose limiting toxicities occurred in 2 patients treated at DL2, hence 45 mg was determined the maximum tolerated dose and utilized in the expansion cohort. The most common treatment-related adverse events were diarrhea and anemia. All patients went off protocol, predominantly due to progressive disease and adverse events (67% and 26% of patients, respectively). Overall response rate (ORR) was 46%. Patients with transformed follicular lymphoma had ORR 67% (2 complete responses), with median progression free survival (PFS) 4.4 months (95% CI: 1.4-12.2). Patients with RT had ORR 31% (2 complete responses) with median PFS 2.0 months (95% CI: 0.7-4.9). Treatment resulted in downregulation of MYC and NFκB pathways in malignant B cells. Responding RT patients exhibited sustained activation of IFN-α and IFN-γ signaling pathways in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Overall, treatment with copanlisib and nivolumab demonstrated manageable toxicity and promising clinical efficacy in tNHL patients.
ISSN:0390-6078
1592-8721