A new three-drug immunotherapy combination significantly improves outcomes for relapsed follicular lymphoma, offering a chemotherapy-free treatment option

DUBAI, RIYADH, DOHA,DECEMBER 22^nd, 2025.Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), one of the world’s leading cancer treatment, education and research institutions, has released clinical trial resultsshowing that a new three-drug immunotherapy combination provides significantly better outcomes for people with relapsed follicular lymphoma.

Follicular lymphoma is a slow-growing form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can become more aggressive over time. Treatment often works well at first, but many people experience relapse, and options become more limited with each recurrence. The development is particularly relevant for the Middle East, where hematologic cancers such as lymphoma and leukemia rank among the most common cancers in several countries, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and where many patients face repeated relapses and limited treatment options.

The international phase 3 trial findings were announced at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. The trialfound that adding the bispecific antibody epcoritamab (Epkinly®) to rituximab (Rituxan®) and lenalidomide (Revlimid®) produced far stronger results than the standard two-drug regimen. The three-drug combination reduced the risk of cancer progression or death by nearly 80%; more than 95% of patients saw their cancer shrink (vs. 79%), and 82% had no detectable disease (vs. 50%). After 16 months, 85% remained progression-free, compared with 40% on standard treatment.