Key clinical point: Pembrolizumab treatment significantly improved progression-free survival versus brentuximab vedotin in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma who had either relapsed after autologous stem cell transplant or were ineligible for autologous SCT.

Major finding: Median progression-free survival was 13.2 versus 8.3 months in the pembrolizumab and brentuximab arms, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.48-0.88; P = .00271).

Study details: The results of KEYNOTE-204, a randomized, phase 3 study including 304 patients with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Disclosures: Research funding for KEYNOTE-204 came from Merck Sharp & Dohme. Dr. Kuruvilla provided disclosures related to Merck and a variety of other pharmaceutical companies.