Efficacy of the nivolumab + AVD regimen in the treatment of newly diagnosed classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma: Leningrad Regional Clinical Hospital experience

Aim. To analyze the efficacy and safety of combining nivolumab with AVD chemotherapy (N-AVD) in patients with newly diagnosed classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma in real-world evidence studies.
Materials and methods. The retrospective single-center study included 26 patients (14 men, 12 women) with advanced disease stages (IIB with unfavorable prognostic factors according to GHSG (German Hodgkin Study Group) or III–IV according to the Ann Arbor classification). Patients received therapy at the Leningrad Regional Clinical Hospital from March 2023 to February 2025. The N-AVD regimen included nivolumab at a dose of 3 mg / kg (maximum 240 mg), doxorubicin 25 mg / m2, vinblastine 6 mg / m2, and dacarbazine 375 mg / m2 on days 1 and 15 every 28 days. Patients with stage IIB were planned to receive 4 cycles of N-AVD, in case of stages III–IV – 6. Some patients received consolidating proton therapy – 6 (24 %) or 3D conformal radiation therapy – 6 (24 %). The primary endpoint of the study was progression-free survival, and secondary endpoints were the complete remission rate, safety, event-free survival, and overall survival.
Results. The complete remission rate was 94 %. With a median follow-up of 11.9 months, 1‑year progression-free survival was 95.7 %, and overall survival – 100 %. The most common adverse events were grade 3–4 neutropenia (46.2 %) and febrile neutropenia (11.5 %). Immune-mediated complications represented by two cases of hypothyroidism and acute pericarditis in one patient.
Conclusion. Preliminary results of our study demonstrate the high efficiency of the N-AVD regimen and emphasize the importance of monitoring immune-mediated complications. The advisability of consolidation radiotherapy in patients with complete remission on anti-PD1 monoclonal antibody therapy requires further study. Our study confirms the prospects of using the N-AVD regimen in patients with newly diagnosed classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but longer follow-up and a larger sample are needed for conclusions.

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