Therapeutic Vaccines for Follicular Lymphoma: A Systematic Review

Abstract

(1) Background: We aimed to estimate the pooled effectiveness and safety of vaccination in follicular lymphoma (FL) and discuss implications for immunotherapy development. (2) Methods: We included randomized trials (RCTs) of therapeutic vaccines in patients with FL. Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary outcome. We searched databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science Core, medRxiv) and registries (PROSPERO, CENTRAL, ClinicalTrials.gov, EuCTR, WHO ICTRP) and conducted online, citation, and manual searches. We assessed risks of bias across outcomes using RoB 2.0 and across studies using ROB-ME and a contour-enhanced funnel plot. (3) Results: Three RCTs were included (813 patients, both previously treated and untreated). Patients with a complete or partial response after chemotherapy were randomized to either a patient-specific recombinant idiotype keyhole limpet hemocyanin (Id-KLH) vaccine plus granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or placebo immunotherapy (KLH + GM-CSF). Meta-analyses showed that PFS was worse with the vaccine, but not significantly: hazard ratio, 1.09 (95% CI 0.91–1.30). The GRADE certainty of evidence was moderate. Adverse event data were mixed. (4) Conclusions: We are moderately certain that Id-KLH results in little to no difference in PFS in FL. (5) Funding: Russian Science Foundation grant #22-25-00516. (6) Registration: PROSPERO CRD42023457528.

Keywords

• non-Hodgkin indolent lymphoma
• immunization
• individual participant data reconstruction