- Kater AP, et al. Single-agent epcoritamab leads to deep responses in patients with Richter’s transformation: primary results from the EPCORE CLL-1 trial. Abstract #S163, EHA congress 2024, 13–16 June, Madrid, Spain.
Prof. Arnon Kater (University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and co-investigators tested the bispecific antibody epcoritamab (targeting CD3 on T-cells and CD20 on B-cells) in participants with high-risk RT. The EPCORETM CLL-1 trial (NCT04623541) included 42 participants with RT who had received fewer than 3 lines of therapy for RT and were ineligible for chemotherapy. They all received epcoritamab until disease progression. The primary endpoint was the independent central review's objective response rate (ORR)1.
The ORR was 60% in participants who received epcoritamab as first-line therapy (n=20), a good result according to Prof. Kater. Moreover, the complete response rate was 50% in this subset of participants. For relapsed disease (n=18), the ORR was 44 % and the complete response rate was 33 %. “The median time to response was 1.4 months and the median time to complete response was 2.5 months,” added Prof. Kater. Furthermore, the median duration of response was 9.6 months.
Cytokine release syndrome (83 %), infections (66 %), thrombocytopenia (46 %), anaemia (42 %), and neutropenia (40 %) were the most common side effects. “Cytokine release syndrome events were predictable, mostly following the first full dose, and predominantly of grade 1 or 2,” added Prof. Kater.
Overall, epcoritamab showed promising anti-tumour activity and had a manageable safety profile in this patient population with high-risk RT. Other cohorts of the EPCORETM CLL-1 trial are currently investigating epcoritamab in combination with other agents for participants with RT or chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Medical writing support was provided by Robert van den Heuvel.