Biologic agents in the management of Hodgkin lymphoma

The advent of biologic approaches for the treatment of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies has been a major accomplishment in oncology and a rapidly growing field of clinical and translational research in cancer therapeutics. Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is no exception. Although the investigation of biologic therapies in HL started decades ago, it has only recently flourished, largely because of the development of new monoclonal antibody drug conjugates and checkpoint inhibitors. Biologic therapies represent a potent treatment option that have produced durable remissions even in patients who have had multiple relapses or with refractory disease. This article reviews 8 major classes of biologic approaches that have been investigated in HL: monoclonal antibodies, immunotoxins, antibody-drug conjugates, radioimmunotherapy, adoptive immunotherapy, immunomodulators, chimeric antigen receptor T cells, and checkpoint inhibitors. An armamentarium of biologic therapies for HL that are well tolerated and potentially more effective is expected to be available in the near future.