How may I benefit from ADCETRIS?
ALCANZA study design
ALCANZA was a large clinical study of 128 people that compared the effectiveness and safety of ADCETRIS with physician’s choice (methotrexate or bexarotene) in patients with relapsed primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma or CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides after systemic therapy.
- 64 people were given ADCETRIS every 3 weeks for up to 16 cycles
- 64 people were given physician’s choice (methotrexate or bexarotene) for up to 48 weeks
Researchers reviewed the overall response rate (primary endpoint) and the progression-free survival results (secondary endpoint) at approximately 23 months
Overall response rate
More people treated with ADCETRIS experienced an overall response to their cancer for at least 4 months compared to those treated with methotrexate or bexarotene.
Progression-free survival results
People who received ADCETRIS experienced more time without their cancer growing or spreading, or death compared to people treated with methotrexate or bexarotene.
The median time to a patient's cancer growing or spreading, or death was 16.7 months for those treated with ADCETRIS and 3.5 months for those treated with methotrexate or bexarotene.
What safety information should I know about ADCETRIS?
The most important serious safety information
PROGRESSIVE MULTIFOCAL LEUKOENCEPHALOPATHY (PML): Patients treated with ADCETRIS can have a rare, serious brain infection called PML that can lead to death. Tell your doctor immediately if you have mood or behavior changes, confusion, problems in thinking or loss of memory, changes in vision, speech, or walking, or decreased strength or weakness on one side of the body. PML may also be caused by prior treatments or diseases that weakened your immune system.
These are not the only side effects of ADCETRIS. Always tell your doctor about any side effects you experience.
Most common side effects while taking ADCETRIS
In people treated with ADCETRIS alone, the most common side effects that occurred in ≥20% of study patients were low red blood cell count (62%), nerve damage (peripheral sensory neuropathy; PN) (45%), nausea (36%), diarrhea (29%), feeling tired (29%), and significantly low number of white blood cells (21%).
The most common serious side effects were bacterial infection of the skin (3%) and fever (3%).
For more information on side effects, please see the Important Safety Information at the bottom of this page and read the Important Facts about ADCETRIS, including BOXED WARNING.
Tell your doctor about any side effect concerns you have
Don't stop, change, or delay your ADCETRIS treatment unless directed by your doctor. Your doctor may take additional steps to help manage side effects, including:
- Reducing your ADCETRIS dosage, or delaying your next dose, until symptoms improve
- Stopping ADCETRIS completely if side effects are severe or do not improve
For more information about understanding side effects, download a copy of the ADCETRIS side effects guide
Learn more about what you can expect before starting ADCETRIS treatment.
Glossary
Mycosis fungoides (MF): Mycosis fungoides is the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, occurring in about 50% of cases.
Overall response rate: The percentage of people in a study or treatment group who have a partial response or complete response to the treatment within a certain period of time. Measuring the overall response rate is one way to see how well a new treatment works.
Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL): A type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that involves the skin.
Relapse: When cancer has returned after signs and symptoms of cancer had reduced or became undetectable.