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News
A new study shows that clearing residual cancer cells from the blood early in treatment is a strong predictor of how well patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma will do on epcoritamab. Most patients achieved MRD negativity by the third treatment cycle, and those who did had significantly longer progression-free survival — even in high-risk groups.
For patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) follicular lymphoma — a cancer that tends to keep coming back — finding reliable ways to predict who will respond durably to treatment is a major clinical challenge. A new exploratory analysis from the phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 trial suggests that blood-based minimal residual disease (MRD) testing could be a powerful tool for doing just that.
The study looked at 128 heavily pretreated adults who received epcoritamab, a bispecific antibody. Researchers used two blood-based methods — peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) — to detect tiny amounts of remaining cancer. About two-thirds of evaluable patients achieved MRD negativity overall, with most reaching that milestone by cycle 3. Crucially, patients who tested MRD-negative had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS), and this held true even in high-risk subgroups.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: These findings suggest MRD testing could complement traditional imaging to guide treatment decisions in follicular lymphoma — potentially helping clinicians identify patients who need a change in strategy before disease visibly progresses.
