WASHINGTON, March 26, 2026—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved an expanded use of nivolumab (Opdivo®) for people living with classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Nivolumab can now be used in combination with standard chemotherapy as an initial treatment for adults and children ages 12 years and older with previously untreated stage 3 or 4 disease.
Nivolumab was previously approved for people whose classical Hodgkin lymphoma had returned or progressed after three or more different rounds of therapy that includes an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), or after treatment with an HSCT and brentuximab vedotin.
“This latest approval marks continued progress in giving both adults and adolescents more treatment options to discuss with their care team,” says Lore Gruenbaum, Ph.D., Blood Cancer United Chief Scientific Officer. “Initial treatment now includes immunotherapy combination with nivolumab, which has shown improved progression-free survival in the large, randomized study that supported this FDA approval.”
Blood Cancer United’s role in advancing science
Nivolumab helps the immune system to kill cancer cells by blocking a protein called programmed death-1 (PD-1). Nivolumab, used alone or in combination with other treatments, is approved to treat over 10 different types of cancer including forms of lung, kidney, colon, and liver, in addition to blood cancer.
Research funded by Blood Cancer United helped establish the importance of the PD‑1 pathway in classical Hodgkin lymphoma—a foundational insight that led to the development of PD‑1–targeting therapies like nivolumab for this indication.
“This progression—from Blood Cancer United‑funded basic and translational research, to clinical trials, FDA approval and changes in clinical practice—highlights the essential role that nonprofit‑funded research can play in advancing patient care,” says Dr. Gruenbaum.
Looking ahead
Expanded FDA approvals reflect how continued research can improve care over time, notes Dr. Gruenbaum.
“We remain committed to financing research and supporting advocacy and education efforts that help bring promising science from the lab to the people who need it most,” she concluded.
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