Elotuzumab, an immunostimulatory monoclonal antibody targeting signaling lymphocytic activation molecule F7 (SLAMF7), showed activity in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in a phase ...1b-2 study in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
In this phase 3 study, we randomly assigned patients to receive either elotuzumab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (elotuzumab group) or lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone (control group). Coprimary end points were progression-free survival and the overall response rate. Final results for the coprimary end points are reported on the basis of a planned interim analysis of progression-free survival.
Overall, 321 patients were assigned to the elotuzumab group and 325 to the control group. After a median follow-up of 24.5 months, the rate of progression-free survival at 1 year in the elotuzumab group was 68%, as compared with 57% in the control group; at 2 years, the rates were 41% and 27%, respectively. Median progression-free survival in the elotuzumab group was 19.4 months, versus 14.9 months in the control group (hazard ratio for progression or death in the elotuzumab group, 0.70; 95% confidence interval, 0.57 to 0.85; P<0.001). The overall response rate in the elotuzumab group was 79%, versus 66% in the control group (P<0.001). Common grade 3 or 4 adverse events in the two groups were lymphocytopenia, neutropenia, fatigue, and pneumonia. Infusion reactions occurred in 33 patients (10%) in the elotuzumab group and were grade 1 or 2 in 29 patients.
Patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who received a combination of elotuzumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone had a significant relative reduction of 30% in the risk of disease progression or death. (Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AbbVie Biotherapeutics; ELOQUENT-2 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01239797.).
PIM447, a pan-proviral integration site for Moloney leukemia (PIM) kinase inhibitor, has shown preclinical activity in multiple myeloma (MM). This phase I, open-label, multicenter, dose-escalation ...study aimed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended dose for expansion (RDE) of PIM447 in Japanese patients with relapsed and/or refractory (R/R) MM. The study included 13 patients (250 mg once daily (QD),
n
= 7; 300 mg QD,
n
= 6). The sole dose-limiting toxicity observed was grade 3 QTc prolongation in one patient from the 300 mg group, and the MTD and RDE was not determined. The most common suspected PIM447-related adverse events (AEs) included thrombocytopenia (76.9%), anemia (53.8%), and leukopenia (53.8%). All patients experienced at least one grade 3 or 4 AE, most frequently thrombocytopenia or leukopenia (61.5% each). The overall response rate was 15.4%, disease control rate 69.2%, clinical benefit rate 23.1%, and two patients had a partial response (one in each dose group). Two patients treated with 250 mg QD had a progression-free survival > 6 months. PIM447 250 mg or 300 mg QD was tolerated in Japanese patients with R/R MM. Further studies are required to evaluate clinical outcomes of PIM447 in combination with other drugs for the treatment of MM.
Trial registration
: clinicaltrials.gov: (NCT02160951).
Multiple myeloma (MM) is cytogenetically, genetically and molecularly heterogenous even among subclones in one patient, therefore, it is essential to identify both frequent and patient-specific ...drivers of molecular abnormality. Following previous molecular investigations, we in this study investigated the expression patterns and function of the Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1 (EWSR1) gene in MM. The EWSR1 transcriptional level in CD138-positive myeloma cells was higher in 36.4% of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, in 67.4% of MM patients compared with normal plasma cells, and significantly higher in ten human myeloma-derived cell lines (HMCLs) examined. EWSR1 gene knockdown caused growth inhibition with an increase of apoptotic cells in NCI-H929 and KMS-12-BM cells. Gene expression profiling using microarray analysis suggested EWSR1 gene knockdown caused transcriptional modulation of several genes associated with processes such as cell proliferation, cell motility, cell metabolism, and gene expression. Of particular, EWSR1 gene knockdown caused upregulation of let-7c and downregulation of its known targets K-RAS and AKT. Finally, our analysis using community database suggested that high EWSR1 expression positively associates with poor prognosis and advanced disease stage in MM. These findings suggest that EWSR1 overexpression is a pro-oncogenic molecular abnormality that may participate in MM progression.
We carried out a multicenter dose‐escalation phase I study of oral OPB‐51602, a signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 phosphorylation inhibitor, in patients with relapsed or refractory ...hematological malignancies to evaluate the safety, maximum tolerated dose (MTD), pharmacokinetics, and preliminary antitumor activity. Twenty patients were treated with OPB‐51602 at doses of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 mg in the “3 + 3” dose escalation design. The most common treatment‐related adverse events included nausea (55%), peripheral sensory neuropathy (45%), and diarrhea (40%). The most frequently observed grade 3 or 4 drug‐related adverse events were neutropenia (20%), leukopenia (15%), lymphopenia (10%), and thrombocytopenia (10%). The MTD was 6 mg, with dose‐limiting toxicities of grade 3 lactic acidosis and increased blood lactic acid levels observed in one of three patients and grade 1–2 peripheral neuropathy in three of three patients. The recommended dose was determined to be 4 mg. OPB‐51602 was rapidly absorbed, and exposure tended to increase in a dose‐dependent manner. Accumulation of OPB‐51602 was seen with 4 weeks of multiple treatments. No clear therapeutic response was observed. Durable stable disease was observed in two patients with acute myeloid leukemia and one with myeloma. In conclusion, the MTD of OPB‐51602 was 6 mg. OPB‐51602 was safe and well tolerated in a dose range of 1–4 mg. However, long‐term administration at higher doses was difficult with the daily dosing schedule, and no response was seen. Therefore, further clinical development of OPB‐51602 for hematological malignancies with a daily dosing schedule was terminated.
In Phase I study of OPB‐51602 for hematological malignancy, MTD was 6 mg and was safe and well tolerated in a dose range of 1 to 4 mg. However, long‐term administration at higher doses was difficult with a daily dosing schedule, and no clear therapeutic response was observed.
Overexpression of programmed death‐1 (PD‐1) ligands contributes to an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Nivolumab is a PD‐1‐blocking antibody that inhibits the PD‐1 pathway and showed good efficacy ...in several types of malignancy. This phase II study examined the efficacy and safety of nivolumab in 17 Japanese patients with refractory/relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma previously treated with brentuximab vedotin. Sixteen patients were included in efficacy analyses and 17 in safety analyses. The primary endpoint was the centrally assessed objective response rate (ORR). The study was commenced in March 2015. We report data obtained at a cutoff of 16 March 2016, at which time 11 patients were still receiving nivolumab. The median (range) duration of treatment and follow‐up were 7.0 (1.4–10.6) months and 9.8 (6.0–11.1) months, respectively. All 17 patients had previously received brentuximab vedotin. The ORR was 81.3% (95% confidence interval CI: 54.4–96.0%; 13/16 patients), with complete remission and partial remission in 4 and 9 patients, respectively. The overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS) rates at 6 months were 100 and 60.0% (95% CI: 31.8–79.7%), respectively; the median OS and PFS were not reached. The most common adverse events (AE) were pyrexia (41.2%), pruritus (35.3%), rash (35.3%) and hypothyroidism (29.4%). Four patients (23.5%) experienced grade 3 or 4 AE, but most AE were of grade 1 or 2. In conclusion, nivolumab is a potentially effective and tolerable treatment option for Japanese patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma previously treated with brentuximab vedotin.
We examined the efficacy and safety of nivolumab, a programmed death‐1 (PD‐1)‐blocking antibody, in a phase 1 trial in 17 Japanese patients with refractory/relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma previously treated with brentuximab vedotin. The results indicate that nivolumab is a potentially effective treatment option that achieved relevant decreases in tumor size. Nivolumab was also tolerable in this cohort of patients.
Prolonging overall survival (OS) remains an unmet need in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). In ELOQUENT-2 (NCT01239797), elotuzumab plus lenalidomide/dexamethasone (ERd) significantly ...improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus lenalidomide/dexamethasone (Rd) in patients with RRMM and 1-3 prior lines of therapy (LoTs). We report results from the pre-planned final OS analysis after a minimum follow-up of 70.6 months, the longest reported for an antibody-based triplet in RRMM. Overall, 646 patients with RRMM and 1-3 prior LoTs were randomized 1:1 to ERd or Rd. PFS and overall response rate were co-primary endpoints. OS was a key secondary endpoint, with the final analysis planned after 427 deaths. ERd demonstrated a statistically significant 8.7-month improvement in OS versus Rd (median, 48.3 vs 39.6 months; hazard ratio, 0.82 95.4% Cl, 0.68-1.00; P = 0.0408 less than allotted α of 0.046), which was consistently observed across key predefined subgroups. No additional safety signals with ERd at extended follow-up were reported. ERd is the first antibody-based triplet regimen shown to significantly prolong OS in patients with RRMM and 1-3 prior LoTs. The magnitude of OS benefit was greatest among patients with adverse prognostic factors, including older age, ISS stage III, IMWG high-risk disease, and 2-3 prior LoTs.
For this study, we investigated comprehensive expression of conjoined genes (CGs) in non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma (B-NHL) cell line KPUM-UH1 by using paired-end RNA sequencing. Furthermore, we ...analyzed the expression of these transcripts in an additional 21 cell lines, 37 primary samples of various malignancies and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of four normal individuals. Seventeen CGs were detected in KPUM-UH1: CTBS-GNG5, SRP9-EPHX1, RMND5A-ANAPC, OTX1-EHBP1, ATF2-CHN1, PRKAA1-TTC33, LARP1-MRPL22, LOC105379697-BAK1, TIAM2-SCAF8, SPAG1-VPS13B, WBP1L-CNNM2, NARS2-GAB2, CTSC-RAB38, VAMP1-CD27-AS1, LRRC37A2-NSF, UBA2-WTIP and ZNF600-ZNF611. To our knowledge, 10 of these genes have not been previously reported. The various characteristics of the CGs included in- and out-of-frame fusions, chimeras involving non-coding RNA and transcript variants. A finding of note was that LARP1-MRPL2 was characterized as in-frame fusion and was recurrently expressed in B-NHL samples. In this study, variety of CGs was expressed both in malignant and normal cells, some of which might be specific to lymphoma.
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•Nanocell lattice with a high aspect ratio on InSb semiconductor surface was fabricated by ion beam irradiation.•The fabrication technique consisting of top-down and bottom-up ...processes was performed in FIB.•High aspect ratio of 2 was achieved in nanocell lattice with a 100nm interval.•The intermediate-flux irradiation is favorable for fabrication of nanocell with a high aspect ratio.
A high aspect ratio nanocell lattice was fabricated on the InSb semiconductor surface using the migration of point defects induced by ion beam irradiation. The fabrication technique consisting of the top-down (formation of voids and holes) and bottom-up (growth of voids and holes into nanocells) processes was performed using a focused ion beam (FIB) system. A cell aspect ratio of 2 (cell height/cell diameter) was achieved for the nanocell lattice with a 100nm dot interval The intermediate-flux ion irradiation during the bottom-up process was found to be optimal for the fabrication of a high aspect ratio nanocell.
A 58-year-old woman underwent emergency surgical resection of the small intestine for intussusception as diagnosed at our hospital. Histopathological diagnosis of the resected specimen of the ileum ...was amyloid light chain (AL) amyloidosis. The colonoscopy after the surgical resection and following histopathological analysis of the biopsied specimens of the colon revealed follicular lymphoma (FL) grade 1 with plasmacytic differentiation. Histological findings of these ileal and colonic lesions were characteristic. In the ileum, CD10-positive lymphoid follicles and CD38-positive interfollicular plasma cell infiltration into villi were detected. The amyloid deposition was localized to the ileum and was adjacent to lymphoid follicles and interfollicular plasma cells. Furthermore, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for paraffin-embedded tissue sections (tissue-FISH) revealed that both the B cells in follicular lesions and the interfollicular plasma cells showed
IGH
/
BCL2
fusion signals, which means the interfollicular plasma cells were originated from the differentiated neoplastic follicular B cells. The patient was treated with six courses of lymphoma chemotherapy and attained complete remission without any symptoms associated with amyloidosis. Further case analyses are needed to clarify the clinicopathological findings and to establish therapeutic strategy of AL amyloidosis associated with FL and FL with plasmacytic differentiation.