This phase II trial investigates how well brentuximab vedotin and nivolumab work in treating patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma that has come back after initial treatment (relapsed) or has not responded to initial treatment (refractory). Brentuximab vedotin is a monoclonal antibody, brentuximab, linked to a toxic agent called vedotin. Brentuximab attaches to CD30 positive cancer cells in a targeted way and delivers vedotin to kill them. Nivolumab is an antibody that enhances the immune system to better fight Hodgkin lymphoma cells. Giving brentuximab vedotin and nivolumab may be able to defer stem cell transplant treatment and spare the considerable cost and toxicity on transplantation.
Documented informed consent of the participant and/or legally authorized representative
Assent, when appropriate, will be obtained per institutional guidelines
Be willing to provide tissue (either from a fresh core or excisional biopsy performed as standard of care, or from archival tissue) of a biopsy that was performed after frontline systemic therapy, and prior to starting protocol therapy
If unavailable, exceptions may be granted with study principal investigator (PI) approval
Concomitant investigational therapy
Live vaccine within 30 days prior to day 1 of protocol therapy (e.g. measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, yellow fever, rabies, bacillus Calmette-Guerin [BCG], oral polio vaccine, and oral typhoid)
Grade >= 2 peripheral neuropathy
History of prior >= grade 3 hypersensitivity to either brentuximab vedotin or nivolumab
City of Hope Medical Center
Lead sponsor
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Collaborator