Brentuximab vedotin for the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a relatively rare but highly curable human cancer. Because very few patients relapse and will require subsequent therapy, new drug development for HL has not been seen as a high priority by the pharmaceutical industry. Brentuximab vedotin, an antibody-drug conjugate that targets CD30 receptors, became the first drug to be approved by regulatory agencies for the treatment of HL in more than 30 years. This review summarizes the current and future directions of incorporating brentuximab vedotin in the management of patients with HL.