# CheckMate 205: nivolumab for relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous transplant failure, extended follow-up

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-checkmate-205-nivolumab-rr-hodgkin-extended-follow-up-jco-2018/  
OnCo record `paper-checkmate-205-nivolumab-rr-hodgkin-extended-follow-up-jco-2018` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The PD-1 antibody nivolumab produced responses in about seven in ten patients whose Hodgkin lymphoma had returned after a stem cell transplant, with responses lasting well over a year, confirming the exquisite sensitivity of this lymphoma to checkpoint blockade.

## Summary

Multicohort single-arm phase 2 study of 243 patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma relapsed or refractory after autologous stem cell transplantation, treated with nivolumab; cohorts were brentuximab-naive, brentuximab after transplant, and brentuximab before and/or after transplant.

With extended follow-up the objective response rate was 69 percent, median duration of response 16.6 months and median progression-free survival 14.7 months; responses were independent of PD-L1 expression level, and the safety profile matched other nivolumab studies. The data underpinned regulatory approval of nivolumab in this setting.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-18
- Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology
- Year: 2018
- DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2017.76.0793
- Authors: Armand P, Engert A, Younes A, et al.
- Findings: Objective response 69 percent; median duration of response 16.6 months; median progression-free survival 14.7 months.
- What it means: Nivolumab, like pembrolizumab, is a standard for relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma after transplant, and the activity seen here led to its testing in first-line therapy (S1826).
- Caveats: Single-arm; no randomised comparison with brentuximab vedotin.; Complete responses were a minority and most patients eventually progressed.

## Sources

- J Clin Oncol 2018: https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2017.76.0793
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29584546/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Relapsed and refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/relapsed-refractory-hodgkin-lymphoma/)
- drugs: [Nivolumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/nivolumab/)
- trials: [CheckMate 205](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-205/)
- journals: [Journal of Clinical Oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/jco/)

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