Brentuximab Vedotin for Stage III or IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

To the Editor: ECHELON-1, the trial reported by Connors et al. (Jan. 25 issue), 1 shows advancement in the treatment of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and introduces an effective regimen for patients who are unable to receive bleomycin. However, clinically meaningful outcomes in patients with curable cancers are reflected by overall survival, not modified progression-free survival (the time to progression, death, or noncomplete response and use of subsequent anticancer therapy). The authors state, “the results of the interim overall survival analysis…favored A+AVD [brentuximab vedotin, doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine],” but that statement is premature, and longer follow-up is required for validation. The use of . . .