Indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL) remains largely incurable and often requires multiple lines of treatment after becoming refractory to standard therapies. Duvelisib was approved by the Food and ...Drug Administration for relapsed or refractory (RR) chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) and RR follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more prior systemic therapies. On the basis of the activity of duvelisib, a first-in-class oral dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase-δ,-γ, in RR iNHL in a phase I study, the safety and efficacy of duvelisib monotherapy was evaluated in iNHL refractory to rituximab and either chemotherapy or radioimmunotherapy.
Eligible patients had measurable iNHL (FL, SLL, or marginal zone B-cell lymphoma) double refractory to rituximab (monotherapy or in combination) and to either chemotherapy or radioimmunotherapy. All were treated with duvelisib 25 mg orally twice daily in 28-day cycles until progression, unacceptable toxicity, or death. The primary end point was overall response rate (ORR) using the revised International Working Group criteria for malignant lymphoma.
This open-label, global phase II trial enrolled 129 patients (median age, 65 years; median of three prior lines of therapy) with an ORR of 47.3% (SLL, 67.9%; FL, 42.2%; MZL, 38.9%). The estimated median duration of response was 10 months, and the estimated median progression-free survival was 9.5 months. The most frequent any-grade treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were diarrhea (48.8%), nausea (29.5%), neutropenia (28.7%), fatigue (27.9%), and cough (27.1%). Among the 88.4% of patients with at least one grade 3 or greater TEAE, the most common TEAEs were neutropenia (24.8%), diarrhea (14.7%), anemia (14.7%), and thrombocytopenia (11.6%).
In the DYNAMO study, oral duvelisib monotherapy demonstrated clinically meaningful activity and a manageable safety profile in heavily pretreated, double-refractory iNHL, consistent with previous observations. Duvelisib may provide a new oral treatment option for this patient population of which many are elderly and in need of additional therapies.
We assessed the incidence, prognostic features, and outcomes associated with transformation of follicular lymphoma (FL) among 2652 evaluable patients prospectively enrolled in the National LymphoCare ...Study. At a median follow-up of 6.8 years, 379/2652 (14.3%) patients transformed following the initial FL diagnosis, including 147 pathologically confirmed and 232 clinically suspected cases. Eastern Cancer Oncology Group performance status >1, extranodal sites >1, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, and B symptoms at diagnosis were associated with transformation risk. Relative to observation, patients initiating treatment at diagnosis had a reduced risk of transformation (hazard ratio HR, 0.58; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.46-0.75). The risk of transformation was similar in patients treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone compared with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (adjusted HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.62-1.42). Maintenance rituximab was associated with reduced transformation risk (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.46-0.97). Five-year survival from diagnosis was significantly worse for patients with vs without transformation (75%, 95% CI, 70-79 vs 85%, 95% CI, 83-86). The median overall survival posttransformation was 5 years. Forty-seven patients with evidence of transformation at the time of diagnosis shared similar prognostic factors and survival rates to those without transformation. Improved outcomes for transformation in the modern era are suggested by this observational study. This trial is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00097565.
•The median posttransformation survival of 5 years suggests improved outcomes for transformed FL in the modern era.•Five-year progression-free and overall survival (66% and 88%) are favorable for patients with evidence of transformation at diagnosis.
Given that the clinical course of oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy is not well defined, the current study was performed to better understand clinical parameters associated with its presentation.
Acute ...and chronic neuropathy was evaluated in patients receiving adjuvant FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) on study N08CB (North Central Cancer Treatment Group, Alliance). Acute neuropathy was assessed by having patients complete daily questionnaires for 6 days with each cycle of FOLFOX. Before each dose of FOLFOX and as long as 18 months after chemotherapy cessation, chronic neurotoxicity was assessed with use of the 20-item, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality-of-life questionnaire for patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.
Three hundred eight (89%) of the 346 patients had at least one symptom of acute neuropathy with the first cycle of FOLFOX; these symptoms included sensitivity to touching cold items (71%), sensitivity to swallowing cold items (71%), throat discomfort (63%), or muscle cramps (42%). Acute symptoms peaked at day 3 and improved, although they did not always resolve completely between treatments. These symptoms were about twice as severe in cycles 2 through 12 as they were in cycle 1. For chronic neurotoxicity, tingling was the most severe symptom, followed by numbness and then pain. During chemotherapy, symptoms in the hands were more prominent than they were in the feet; by 18 months, symptoms were more severe in the feet than they were in the hands. Patients with more severe acute neuropathy during the first cycle of therapy experienced more chronic sensory neurotoxicity (P < .0001).
Acute oxaliplatin-induced neuropathy symptoms do not always completely resolve between treatment cycles and are only half as severe on the first cycle as compared with subsequent cycles. There is a correlation between the severities of acute and chronic neuropathies.
Related donor haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (Haplo-HCT) using post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) is increasingly used in patients lacking HLA-matched sibling donors ...(MSD). We compared outcomes after Haplo-HCT using PT-Cy with MSD-HCT in patients with lymphoma, using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research registry.
We evaluated 987 adult patients undergoing either Haplo-HCT (n = 180) or MSD-HCT (n = 807) following reduced-intensity conditioning regimens. The haploidentical group received graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with PT-Cy with or without a calcineurin inhibitor and mycophenolate. The MSD group received calcineurin inhibitor-based GVHD prophylaxis.
Median follow-up of survivors was 3 years. The 28-day neutrophil recovery was similar in the two groups (95% v 97%; P = .31). The 28-day platelet recovery was delayed in the haploidentical group compared with the MSD group (63% v 91%; P = .001). Cumulative incidence of grade II to IV acute GVHD at day 100 was similar between the two groups (27% v 25%; P = .84). Cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD at 1 year was significantly lower after Haplo-HCT (12% v 45%; P < .001), and this benefit was confirmed on multivariate analysis (relative risk, 0.21; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.31; P < .001). For Haplo-HCT v MSD-HCT, 3-year rates of nonrelapse mortality (15% v 13%; P = .41), relapse/progression (37% v 40%; P = .51), progression-free survival (48% v 48%; P = .96), and overall survival (61% v 62%; P = .82) were similar. Multivariate analysis showed no significant difference between Haplo-HCT and MSD-HCT in terms of nonrelapse mortality (P = .06), progression/relapse (P = .10), progression-free survival (P = .83), and overall survival (P = .34).
Haplo-HCT with PT-Cy provides survival outcomes comparable to MSD-HCT, with a significantly lower risk of chronic GVHD.
Alliance/CALGB 50303 (NCT00118209), an intergroup, phase III study, compared dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab (DA-EPOCH-R) with standard ...rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) as frontline therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
Patients received six cycles of DA-EPOCH-R or R-CHOP. The primary objective was progression-free survival (PFS); secondary clinical objectives included response rate, overall survival (OS), and safety.
Between 2005 and 2013, 524 patients were registered; 491 eligible patients were included in the final analysis. Most patients (74%) had stage III or IV disease; International Prognostic Index (IPI) risk groups included 26% IPI 0 to 1, 37% IPI 2, 25% IPI 3, and 12% IPI 4 to 5. At a median follow-up of 5 years, PFS was not statistically different between the arms (hazard ratio, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.27;
= .65), with a 2-year PFS rate of 78.9% (95% CI, 73.8% to 84.2%) for DA-EPOCH-R and 75.5% (95% CI, 70.2% to 81.1%) for R-CHOP. OS was not different (hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.75 to 1.59;
= .64), with a 2-year OS rate of 86.5% (95% CI, 82.3% to 91%) for DA-EPOCH-R and 85.7% (95% CI, 81.4% to 90.2%) for R-CHOP. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events were more common (
< .001) in the DA-EPOCH-R arm than the R-CHOP arm, including infection (16.9%
10.7%, respectively), febrile neutropenia (35.0%
17.7%, respectively), mucositis (8.4%
2.1%, respectively), and neuropathy (18.6%
3.3%, respectively). Five treatment-related deaths (2.1%) occurred in each arm.
In the 50303 study population, the more intensive, infusional DA-EPOCH-R was more toxic and did not improve PFS or OS compared with R-CHOP. The more favorable results with R-CHOP compared with historical controls suggest a potential patient selection bias and may preclude generalizability of results to specific risk subgroups.
Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) mediates B-cell receptor signaling and microenvironmental support signals that promote the growth and survival of malignant B lymphocytes. In a phase 1 ...study, idelalisib, an orally active selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, showed antitumor activity in patients with previously treated indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
In this single-group, open-label, phase 2 study, 125 patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas who had not had a response to rituximab and an alkylating agent or had had a relapse within 6 months after receipt of those therapies were administered idelalisib, 150 mg twice daily, until the disease progressed or the patient withdrew from the study. The primary end point was the overall rate of response; secondary end points included the duration of response, progression-free survival, and safety.
The median age of the patients was 64 years (range, 33 to 87); patients had received a median of four prior therapies (range, 2 to 12). Subtypes of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma included follicular lymphoma (72 patients), small lymphocytic lymphoma (28), marginal-zone lymphoma (15), and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma with or without Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (10). The response rate was 57% (71 of 125 patients), with 6% meeting the criteria for a complete response. The median time to a response was 1.9 months, the median duration of response was 12.5 months, and the median progression-free survival was 11 months. Similar response rates were observed across all subtypes of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, though the numbers were small for some categories. The most common adverse events of grade 3 or higher were neutropenia (in 27% of the patients), elevations in aminotransferase levels (in 13%), diarrhea (in 13%), and pneumonia (in 7%).
In this single-group study, idelalisib showed antitumor activity with an acceptable safety profile in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who had received extensive prior treatment. (Funded by Gilead Sciences and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01282424.).
Summary
Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis‐like toxicity following chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR‐HLH) is being increasingly recognized, while published data are limited and criteria for ...recognition are elusive. We describe three patients who developed CAR‐HLH after infusion of brexucabtagene autoleucel (n = 2) or axicabtagene ciloleucel (n = 1). All three patients presented following cytokine release syndrome, with fever, recurrent or worsening cytopenias, hyperferritinaemia, elevated soluble interleukin (IL)‐2 receptor, hypofibrinogenaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia, elevated liver transaminases, and decreasing C‐reactive protein and IL‐6. Clinical improvement following treatment with anakinra (n = 2) and ruxolitinib (n = 1) was observed. Our report offers an opportunity for prompt recognition and initiation of potentially life‐saving treatment for CAR‐HLH.
In a phase 1 trial, idelalisib (GS-1101, CAL-101), a selective inhibitor of the lipid kinase PI3Kδ, was evaluated in 54 patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with ...adverse characteristics including bulky lymphadenopathy (80%), extensive prior therapy (median 5 range 2-14 prior regimens), treatment-refractory disease (70%), unmutated IGHV (91%), and del17p and/or TP53 mutations (24%). Patients were treated at 6 dose levels of oral idelalisib (range 50-350 mg once or twice daily) and remained on continuous therapy while deriving clinical benefit. Idelalisib-mediated inhibition of PI3Kδ led to abrogation of Akt phosphorylation in patient CLL cells and significantly reduced serum levels of CLL-related chemokines. The most commonly observed grade ≥3 adverse events were pneumonia (20%), neutropenic fever (11%), and diarrhea (6%). Idelalisib treatment resulted in nodal responses in 81% of patients. The overall response rate was 72%, with 39% of patients meeting the criteria for partial response per IWCLL 2008 and 33% meeting the recently updated criteria of PR with treatment-induced lymphocytosis.1,2 The median progression-free survival for all patients was 15.8 months. This study demonstrates the clinical utility of inhibiting the PI3Kδ pathway with idelalisib. Our findings support the further development of idelalisib in patients with CLL. These trials were registered at clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00710528 and #NCT01090414.
•Idelalisib was evaluated in 54 patients with heavily pretreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and target inhibition was documented in vivo.•Oral idelalisib therapy demonstrated a favorable safety profile and rapidly induced durable disease control in the majority of patients.