{"entity":{"id":"pd1-plus-avd-hodgkin","kind":"pairing","name":"PD-1 blockade + AVD chemotherapy","aka":[],"tldr":"Immunotherapy given alongside standard chemotherapy from day one cures more advanced Hodgkin lymphoma with less nerve damage.","summary":"Giving nivolumab alongside AVD chemotherapy, whose anthracycline component is doxorubicin, from the first cycle is a combination pairing for advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Reed-Sternberg cells carry amplification of the PD-L1 locus at 9p24.1 and depend on immune evasion, so chemotherapy debulks the disease while PD-1 blockade engages the abundant reactive T cells already present in the tumour. In the phase 3 SWOG S1826 trial nivolumab-AVD improved progression-free survival compared with brentuximab vedotin-AVD and caused much less peripheral neuropathy, and the regimen was approved in March 2026 for patients aged 12 and over. Supporting phase 2 evidence comes from cohort D of CheckMate 205, and the linked S1826 paper covers adolescents and adults.","asOf":"2026-09-07","links":[{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03907488: SWOG S1826","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03907488"},{"label":"ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02181738: CheckMate 205","url":"https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02181738"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":["hodgkin-lymphoma"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["swog-s1826","checkmate-205"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"a":"nivolumab","b":"doxorubicin","rationale":"Reed-Sternberg cells are PD-L1-amplified (9p24.1) and immune-dependent; chemotherapy debulks while PD-1 blockade engages the abundant reactive T cells in the tumour.","evidence":"Phase 3 (S1826) positive; phase 2 CheckMate 205 cohort D.","pairingType":"combination"},"route":"/pairings/pd1-plus-avd-hodgkin/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"advanced-stage-classical-hodgkin-lymphoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (stage III to IV)","route":"/cancers/advanced-stage-classical-hodgkin-lymphoma/"},{"id":"hodgkin-lymphoma","kind":"cancer","name":"Hodgkin lymphoma","route":"/cancers/hodgkin-lymphoma/"}],"trial":[{"id":"checkmate-205","kind":"trial","name":"CheckMate 205","route":"/trials/checkmate-205/"},{"id":"swog-s1826","kind":"trial","name":"SWOG S1826","route":"/trials/swog-s1826/"}],"drug":[{"id":"doxorubicin","kind":"drug","name":"Doxorubicin","route":"/drugs/doxorubicin/"},{"id":"nivolumab","kind":"drug","name":"Nivolumab","route":"/drugs/nivolumab/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-swog-s1826-nivolumab-avd-nejm-2024","kind":"paper","name":"SWOG S1826: nivolumab plus AVD chemotherapy versus brentuximab-AVD for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma in adolescents and adults","route":"/key-papers/paper-swog-s1826-nivolumab-avd-nejm-2024/"}]}}