Hodgkin lymphoma develops in the lymphatic system and affects about 8,570 people in the U.S. each year. The disease typically hits two population groups – the young and old. It’s the most common cancer in adolescents from age 15 to 19, striking people as they are just setting out on adulthood.

Former Sylvester patient Giovan Seecharan was only 22 when he noticed a mass above his collarbone. He drove to Miami for a biopsy at Sylvester the same day as his graduation ceremony from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla.

He was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma and signed up for the new clinical trial.

“I thought that, if this is something that can modernize treatments, especially cancer treatments, you can sign me up. I really didn’t hesitate,” said Seecharan, who was one of 20 Sylvester patients enrolled in the 970-patient international trial, funded mainly by the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

The trial compared nivolumab with another drug, brentuximab vedotin, in combination with chemotherapy.

Brentuximab is a so-called antibody-drug conjugate. It has two key parts: an antibody that homes to a target on the tumor cells and a toxin that eliminates the cells.

Brentuximab is typically combined with three chemotherapy drugs — doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine, a combination called “AVD.” Brentuximab plus AVD was previously shown to improve survival rates for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma over chemotherapy drugs alone and was approved as a first-line treatment for the condition five years ago.