Study Led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Investigators Shows Three-Agent Combination Demonstrates Promising Efficacy for Relapsed Follicular Lymphoma

Researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced today that the latest results from that follicular lymphoma clinical trial have shown the three-drug combination - rituximab (Rituxan^®) and lenalidomide (Revlimid^®), along with epcoritamab (Epkinly^®) - works better than using the two drugs alone. The findings were presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH) on December 7, 2025. The findings were also published in The Lancet.

In a new phase 3 trial, patients with follicular lymphoma had a significantly higher response to treatment and a nearly 80% reduction in the risk of death or disease progression if they received epcoritamab in addition to the standard second-line regimen versus the standard regimen alone. The study is the first reported randomized controlled trial to test a bispecific antibody combination in follicular lymphoma, and suggests the combination could offer an effective alternative to chemotherapy that can be safely administered on an outpatient basis.

"This study focused on finding ways to prolong the benefit that patients receive from immunotherapy while also allowing them to avoid chemotherapy," says MSK lymphoma specialist Lorenzo Falchi, MD, who led the international phase 3 trial and presented the findings at ASH. "It's too soon to say whether this treatment will result in a cure, but it appears to be the beginning of a new era in lymphoma treatment."

The study included 488 patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma who were randomized to receive the standard treatment (rituximab and lenalidomide) or the standard treatment plus epcoritamab. Of the patients who got all three drugs, more than 95% had their cancer significantly shrink, versus about 79% of those who got the standard treatment. More than 82% of patients in the experimental group had no trace of disease after treatment, versus about 50% of those in the standard treatment group. At the 16-month time mark, 85% of patients in the experimental group still had no signs of the cancer growing again, versus only 40% in the standard treatment group.

"These findings show a substantial benefit for patients," Dr. Falchi says. "This three-drug combination could become a new standard of care for people whose follicular lymphoma has relapsed. New treatments like this are needed, because we currently have limited options for these patients."

Follicular lymphoma is a slow-growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can progress to a more aggressive form. Patients who see their cancer return after an initial round of treatment have limited options and often experience subsequent relapses. Based on the results of this study, epcoritamab with rituximab and lenalidomide received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on November 18, 2025.

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Rebecca Williams
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