Kuruvilla J, Ramchandren R, Santoro A, et al. - Researchers report interim analyses from the KEYNOTE-204 study (a randomized, open-label, phase 3 study) assessing pembrolizumab vs brentuximab vedotin as a treatment choice for relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Participants were 151 patients (aged 18 years or older) with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma who were randomized 1:1 to pembrolizumab 200 mg intravenously every 3 weeks or brentuximab vedotin 1.8 mg/kg intravenously every 3 weeks. Participants had measurable disease and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 and were not eligible for or relapsed following autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). Findings showed that statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival was conferred by pembrolizumab vs brentuximab vedotin; its safety was consistent with previous reports. For relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma cases with relapse after autologous HSCT or ineligible for autologous HSCT, pembrolizumab was supported as the preferred therapeutic choice based on results of this study. For pembrolizumab, median progression-free survival was 13.2 months vs 8.3 months for brentuximab vedotin. Serious treatment-related adverse events occurred in 16% of 148 patients receiving pembrolizumab and 11% of 152 patients receiving brentuximab vedotin