Genetic subtype-guided immunochemotherapy in relapsed and refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma: a phase 2 investigator-initiated nonrandomized clinical trial (GUIDANCE-06)

Abstract

Improving the outcome of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (R/R DLBCL) remained an unmet need. The aim of this single-center, phase 2 trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of genetic subtype-guided immunochemotherapy (R-ICE-X) in patients with R/R DLBCL: R-ICE-zanubrutinib for MCD-like and BN2-like, R-ICE-lenalidomide for N1-like and NOS, R-ICE-decitabine for TP53^Mut, R-ICE-chidamide for EZB-like, and R-ICE-tofacitinib for ST2-like subtype. Enrolled patients were treated with assigned regimens for three cycles, and then responders were treated with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or 3 cycles of R-ICE-X consolidation and lenalidomide maintenance. The primary endpoint was the complete response (CR) rate. The secondary endpoints included overall response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety assessment. Between April 26, 2022, and July 31, 2024, 76 patients were enrolled, with 74 adhering to and 2 deviating from the protocol. Among all, the CR rate was 56.6% (95% CI, 45.2–68.0%), and the ORR was 76.3% (95% CI, 66.5–86.1%) at the end of induction. With a median follow-up of 19.5 months, the 2-year PFS rate was 69.3% (95% CI, 56.6–79.0%), and the 2-year OS rate was 88.3% (95% CI, 77.6–94.0%). The primary grade 3-4 adverse events were neutropenia (30%) and thrombocytopenia (25%). The presence of bulky disease and CD70 mutation was linked to poor prognosis. Further gene set enrichment analysis revealed that up-regulated PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway and reduced immune cell infiltration were significantly associated with disease progression. Patients with mesenchymal or inflammatory lymphoma microenvironment subtypes benefited from R-ICE-X treatment. Our findings highlight the efficacy and safety of R-ICE-X, a mechanism-based tailored therapy, which dually targets genetic and microenvironmental alterations in R/R DLBCL.