Eltrombopag, an oral thrombopoietin-receptor agonist, stimulates hematopoiesis in patients with acquired aplastic anemia (AA) and has higher exposure in patients of East Asian origin. We evaluated ...the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of eltrombopag in Japanese patients with AA refractory or intolerant to immunosuppressive therapy (IST). Twenty-one patients (15 with non-severe AA, six with severe AA) with platelet counts < 30,000/µL received eltrombopag in a dose-escalation fashion (25, 50, 75, or 100 mg once daily) depending on individual platelet responses; the responders continued eltrombopag treatment beyond 6 months. The primary endpoint was hematologic response at 6 months, defined as improvements in blood counts or transfusion requirements. Ten (48%) patients achieved hematologic responses in at least one lineage at 6 months. Six patients achieved tri- and/or bi-lineage responses with continuation of eltrombopag treatment, with two patients no longer requiring eltrombopag treatment. The most common adverse events were nasopharyngitis and abnormal hepatic function, with the majority being grade 1 or 2. Cytogenetic abnormalities were observed in three patients; however, no progression to myelodysplastic syndrome/other malignancy was observed. Eltrombopag can safely restore multi-lineage hematopoiesis in Japanese patients with AA refractory or intolerant to IST.
Clinical Trial registration
NCT02148133.
Novel therapeutic drugs have dramatically improved the overall survival of patients with multiple myeloma. We sought to identify the characteristics of patients likely to exhibit a durable response ...to one such drug, elotuzumab, by analyzing a real-world database in Japan. We analyzed 179 patients who underwent 201 elotuzumab treatments. The median time to next treatment (TTNT) with the 95% confidence interval was 6.29 months (5.18-9.20) in this cohort. Univariate analysis showed that patients with any of the following had longer TTNT: no high risk cytogenic abnormalities, more white blood cells, more lymphocytes, non-deviated κ/λ ratio, lower β
microglobulin levels (B2MG), fewer prior drug regimens, no prior daratumumab use and better response after elotuzumab treatment. A multivariate analysis showed that TTNT was longer in patients with more lymphocytes (≥ 1400/μL), non-deviated κ/λ ratio (0.1-10), lower B2MG (< 5.5 mg/L) and no prior daratumumab use. We proposed a simple scoring system to predict the durability of the elotuzumab treatment effect by classifying the patients into three categories based on their lymphocyte counts (0 points for ≥ 1400/μL and 1 point for < 1400/μL) and κ/λ ratio (0 points for 0.1-10 and 1 point for < 0.1 or ≥ 10) or B2MG (0 points for < 5.5 mg/L and 1 point for ≥ 5.5 mg/L). The patients with a score of 0 showed significantly longer TTNT (p < 0.001) and better survival (p < 0.001) compared to those with a score of 1 or 2. Prospective cohort studies of elotuzumab treatment may be needed to validate the usefulness of our new scoring system.
Novel therapies are needed for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). Elotuzumab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (ELd) is approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory ...multiple myeloma (RRMM). This phase 2 study in Japan evaluated ELd vs lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Ld) in patients with NDMM who were ineligible for stem cell transplantation. Elotuzumab infusion was accelerated to 5 mL/min by dose 3, cycle 1, allowing most subsequent infusions to be completed within 1 h. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR) in the ELd arm. Secondary endpoints were the difference in ORR between treatments, and progression-free survival (PFS). Patients were randomized to ELd (
n
= 40) or Ld (
n
= 42); median number of treatment cycles was 13 (ELd) and 12 (Ld). In the ELd arm, ORR was 88% 70% confidence interval (CI) 80–93. The estimated difference in ORR between treatments was 13% (95% CI − 4, 30) in favor of ELd. Progression-free survival data were immature. Safety was consistent with previous findings of ELd in Japanese patients with RRMM. No infusion reactions occurred at the maximum rate of 5 mL/min, which was used in 89% of elotuzumab infusions. ELd may be an effective, well-tolerated frontline treatment for patients with NDMM ineligible for stem cell transplantation.
Schoenoplectiella juncoides, a noxious sedge weed in Japanese rice paddy, has two ALS genes, and ALS-inhibitor-resistant plants have a mutation in one of the ALS genes. The authors aimed (a) to ...quantitate the effect of the number of mutant alleles of ALS genes on whole-plant resistance of S. juncoides and (b) to clarify a mode of inheritance of the resistance by investigating resistance levels of the progenies of a hybrid between two S. juncoides plants with Trp
Leu substitution in different ALS. A dose-response analysis on the parental lines and the F
population suggested that the two ALS genes contribute equally to whole-plant resistant levels. A dose-response study on the F
population indicated that it could be classified into five groups based on the sensitivities to metsulfuron-methyl. The five groups (in ascending order of resistance levels) were considered to have zero, one, two, three, and four mutant alleles. The stacking effect of mutant alleles on resistance enhancement was more significant when the number of mutant alleles was low than when it was high; in other words, each additional mutant allele stacking increases plant resistance, but the effect saturates as the number of mutant alleles increases. A chi-square test supported that the segregation ratio of the five groups corresponds to 1:4:6:4:1 of Mendelian independence for the two ALS loci.
Objectives
This study aimed to investigate real‐world data of ixazomib plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone (IRd) therapy for patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).
Methods
We ...retrospectively analyzed 122 patients treated with IRd at 16 centers from May 2017 to January 2019 by using the Kansai Myeloma Forum database.
Result
At the start of IRd, the median age was 72 years, 66.7% of patients had IgG type, and the median number of prior therapies was 4, comprising bortezomib (85.4%) and lenalidomide (89.3%)‐based regimens. Disease progression and adverse events accounted for treatment discontinuation in 46 and 32 patients, respectively. The median overall survival (OS) was not reached, and the median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 11.9 months. Sensitivity to bortezomib did not affect the PFS, whereas lenalidomide‐refractory patients had significantly lower PFS than lenalidomide‐sensitive patients, who were comparable to TOURMALINE‐MM1 study. The patients with IgG type had significantly better PFS and OS than those with non‐IgG type.
Conclusion
This study presents the largest real‐world data of patients treated with IRd in Asia. However, in real clinical practice, the patient background is different from the TOURMALINE‐MM1 study, and IRd showed poor efficacy, especially in the non‐IgG type and lenalidomide‐refractory patients with RRMM.
Background:
Little is known about the real-world survival benefits and safety profiles of carfilzomib–lenalidomide–dexamethasone (KRd) and carfilzomib–dexamethasone (Kd).
Methods:
We performed a ...retrospective analysis to evaluate their efficacy and safety in 157 patients registered in the Kansai Myeloma Forum database.
Results:
A total of 107 patients received KRd. Before KRd, 99% of patients had received bortezomib (54% were refractory disease), and 82% had received lenalidomide (57% were refractory disease). The overall response rate (ORR) was 68.2%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 8.8 and 29.3 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that reduction of the carfilzomib dose and non-IgG M protein were significantly associated with lower PFS and reduction of the carfilzomib dose and refractoriness to prior bortezomib-based regimens were significantly associated with lower OS. A total of 50 patients received Kd. Before Kd, 96% of patients had received bortezomib (54% were refractory disease). The ORR was 62.0%. The median PFS and OS were 7.1 and 20.9 months, respectively. Based on the multivariate analysis, reduction of the carfilzomib dose and International Staging System Stage III (ISS III) were significantly associated with lower PFS. Grade III or higher adverse events were observed in 48% of KRd cases and 54% of Kd cases. Cardiovascular events, cytopenia, and infections were frequent, and 4 KRd patients died due to heart failure, arrhythmia, cerebral hemorrhage, and pneumonia.
Conclusion:
Our analysis showed that an adequate dose of carfilzomib is important for achieving the best survival benefits in a real-world setting. Adverse effects after KRd and Kd therapy should also be considered.
Adult-onset primary autoimmune neutropenia (AIN) is an extremely rare but sometimes life-threatening disease. Its pathophysiology is still to be clarified. We describe a case with adult-onset primary ...AIN with phagocytosis of mature granulocytes by macrophages in bone marrow. A 77-year-old male was referred to our hospital with severe neutropenia. Based on the normal cellular bone marrow without morphological dysplasia and the positivity of anti-neutrophil antibodies in the serum, adult-onset primary AIN was diagnosed. After five years from the initiation of granulocyte colony-stimulating-factor therapy, neutropenia had progressed. At that time, the second bone marrow examination revealed segmented neutrophils phagocytosed by macrophages. Continuous low dose prednisolone succeeded to increase the neutrophil count. An impressive morphological feature of AIN indicated the destruction of mature granulocytes in bone marrow by antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis mediated by granulocyte-specific antibodies. More cases should be accumulated to elucidate the precise mechanism and establish the optimal therapy.
These are the results of phase II study of bortezomib-melphalan-prednisolone (VMP) induction therapy followed by lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) consolidation and lenalidomide maintenance in ...transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end points included overall survival (OS), overall response rates (ORRs), and safety. Eighty-three eligible patients were enrolled between October 2012 and August 2014. The median PFS was 28.0 months (95% CI 19.6–36.7) and the median OS was 55.3 months (95% CI 51.6–NA). Among the patients who received lenalidomide maintenance therapy, median PFS was significantly improved in patients who had achieved a very good partial response (VGPR) or better (41.8 vs 20.7 months,
p
= 0.0070). As the best response, the rates of partial response or better were 85.5% comprising stringent complete response (sCR, 21.7%), complete response (CR, 10.8%), VGPR (18.1%), and partial response (PR, 34.9%). The most frequently observed grade 3 or higher adverse events during the VMP therapy were anemia (28.9%), neutropenia (15.6%), thrombocytopenia (6.0%), and peripheral neuropathy (2.4%). The most frequently observed grade 3 or higher adverse events during the Rd therapy were anemia (3.5%), neutropenia (1.8%), and skin rush (5.3%). The most frequently observed grade 3 or higher adverse events during lenalidomide maintenance therapy were anemia (7.4%) and neutropenia (24.1%). Thus, VMP induction therapy followed by Rd consolidation and lenalidomide maintenance is considered a well-tolerated and effective regimen in transplant-ineligible NDMM. This trial is registered with UMIN-CTR with the identification number UMIN000009042.
We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with solitary plasmacytoma diagnosed from October 2002 to September 2018 from a cohort of 3575 patients with plasma cell dyscrasias registered in the Kansai ...Myeloma Forum. Twenty-seven patients had solitary bone plasmacytoma (SBP) and 24 had extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP), with prevalence of 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. The most frequent M protein was IgG (40%) in SBP, whereas non-secretory proteins were most frequent (50%) in EMP. Five-year overall survival was 78.2% in SBP and 80.8% in EMP (
P
= 0.894). Among patients with SBP, 44% progressed to MM with a median time of 10.5 months (2.4–93.3 months), whereas 8% of EMP patients progressed to MM with a median time of 18.6 months (13.0–24.2 months). The most frequent treatment was radiotherapy (41%) or observation (41%) in SBP, and chemotherapy (54%) in EMP. No statistically significant difference was observed upon univariate analysis of prognostic factors including age, sex, performance status, and IgG M protein. Our results suggest that there are biological differences between SBP and EMP in real-world settings.
