Abstract
Background
In a multinational phase 3 trial (VIALE-C), venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine prolonged overall survival vs placebo plus low-dose cytarabine in patients with newly diagnosed ...acute myeloid leukaemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy, although it was not statistically significant. Herein, we assess the benefit of venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine in the Japanese subgroup of VIALE-C patients (n = 27).
Methods
VIALE-C, a randomized (2:1), double-blind study (NCT03069352), enrolled untreated patients (≥18 years) with acute myeloid leukaemia. Patients received venetoclax (600 mg days 1–28, 4-day ramp-up in cycle 1) or placebo in 28-day cycles with low-dose cytarabine (20 mg/m2 days 1–10). The primary endpoint was median overall survival.
Results
In the Japanese subgroup, at a 6-month follow-up from the primary analysis, median overall survival for venetoclax (n = 18) and placebo (n = 9), plus low-dose cytarabine, was 4.7 and 8.1 months, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.928, 95% confidence intervals : 0.399, 2.156). The rate of complete remission plus complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery was higher with venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine (44.4%) vs placebo plus low-dose cytarabine (11.1%). All patients experienced at least 1 adverse event. The most common grade ≥3 adverse events with venetoclax or placebo, plus low-dose cytarabine, were febrile neutropenia (50.0% vs 44.4%, respectively) and thrombocytopenia (27.8% vs 44.4%, respectively). Serious adverse events were reported in 50.0 and 33.3% of patients in the venetoclax and placebo, plus low-dose cytarabine arms, respectively; pneumonia was the most common (22.2% each).
Conclusions
Limited survival benefit in the Japanese subgroup can be attributed to small patient numbers and to baseline imbalances observed between treatment arms, with more patients in the venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine arm presenting poor prognostic factors. Venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine was well tolerated in Japanese patients with acute myeloid leukaemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.
In the Japanese subgroup of VIALE-C patients (n = 27), venetoclax plus low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) was well tolerated and showed high response vs placebo plus low-dose cytarabine in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.
IntroductionAlthough the prognosis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is excellent, the high recurrence rate and permanent consequences, such as central diabetes insipidus and LCH-associated ...neurodegenerative diseases, remain to be resolved. Based on previous reports that patients with high-risk multisystem LCH show elevated levels of inflammatory molecules, we hypothesised that dexamethasone would more effectively suppress LCH-associated inflammation, especially in the central nervous system (CNS). We further hypothesised that intrathecal chemotherapy would effectively reduce CNS complications. We administer zoledronate to patients with multifocal bone LCH based on an efficacy report from a small case series.Methods and analysisThis phase II study (labelled the LCH-19-MSMFB study) is designed to evaluate the significance of introducing dexamethasone and intrathecal chemotherapy for multisystem disease and zoledronate for multifocal bone disease in previously untreated, newly diagnosed children, adolescents (under 20 years) and adults under 40 years. The primary endpoint is the 3-year event-free survival rate by risk group of under 20 years and the 3-year event-free survival rate of 20 years and over.Ethics and disseminationThis study was approved by the Central Review Board of the National Hospital Organisation Nagoya Medical Centre (Nagoya, Japan) on 21 January 2022 and was registered in the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (https://jrct.niph.go.jp/en-latest-detail/jRCTs041210027). Written informed consent will be obtained from all patients and/or their guardians.Trial registration numberjRCTs041210027.
Patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are at higher risk of developing secondary malignancies. In this study, we focused on patients with MPNs that complicated lymphoid neoplasms. To ...analyze the real-world status of lymphoid neoplasm treatment in patients with pre-existing MPNs in Japan, we conducted a multicenter retrospective study.
Questionnaires were sent to collect the data on patients who were first diagnosed with either polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia or myelofibrosis and who later were complicated with lymphoid neoplasms defined as malignant lymphoma, multiple myeloma, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small cell lymphoma.
Twenty-four patients with MPNs complicated by lymphoid neoplasms were enrolled (polycythemia vera,
= 8; essential thrombocythemia,
= 14; and primary myelofibrosis,
= 2). Among these, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was the most frequently observed (
= 13, 54.1%). Twelve (92.3%) of the patients with DLBCL received conventional chemotherapy. Among these 12 patients, regarding cytoreductive therapy for MPNs, 8 patients stopped treatment, one continued treatment, and two received a reduced dose. Consequently, most patients were able to receive conventional chemotherapy for DLBCL with a slightly higher dose of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support than usual without worse outcomes. All 3 patients with multiple myeloma received a standard dose of chemotherapy.
Our data indicate that if aggressive lymphoid neoplasms develop during the course of treatment in patients with MPNs, it is acceptable to prioritize chemotherapy for lymphoma.
The international phase III DASISION trial demonstrated improved efficacy of dasatinib versus imatinib in treatment-naive patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP). We ...report efficacy and safety outcomes in a Japanese population from the final, 5-year follow-up of DASISION. At the end of the study, 77% (20/26) of dasatinib-treated and 61% (14/23) of imatinib-treated patients remained on initial therapy. Improved responses were observed in Japanese patients who received dasatinib versus imatinib (complete cytogenetic response: 96 vs 87%; major molecular response: 88 vs 74%;
BCR
-
ABL1
≤0.0032% International Scale MR
4.5
: 58 vs 52%). In patients who achieved
BCR
-
ABL1
≤10% at 3 months, 5-year progression-free survival and overall survival rates were high with dasatinib (96 and 96%) and imatinib (88 and 100%). The majority of adverse events were grade 1/2 in Japanese patients. Pleural effusion occurred more frequently in dasatinib-treated Japanese patients versus all patients (42 vs 28%), with no treatment discontinuations. Overall, in Japanese patients, dasatinib maintained its safety profile and had higher or comparable response and survival outcomes compared with imatinib or with all patients in DASISION. These findings demonstrate the long-term efficacy and tolerability of dasatinib and support frontline treatment of Japanese patients with CML-CP with dasatinib.
The presence of a
JAK2
V617F or
JAK2
exon 12 mutation is one of the three major criteria listed for the diagnosis of polycythemia vera (PV) in the 2017 World Health Organization Classification. ...However, a nationwide study has not yet been conducted in Japan since the discovery of
JAK2
mutations. Therefore, the Japanese Society of Hematology (JSH) retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics of 596 Japanese patients with PV diagnosed between April 2005 and March 2018. Among the 473 patients with complete data on
JAK2
mutations available, 446 (94.3%) and 10 (2.1%) were positive for the
JAK2
V617F and
JAK2
exon 12 mutations, respectively. During a median follow-up of 46 months (range: 0–179 months), 47 (7.9%) deaths occurred. The major causes of death were secondary malignancies (23.4%), acute leukemia (12.8%), non-leukemic progressive disease (10.6%) and thrombotic (6.4%) and hemorrhagic complications (6.4%). Thrombotic and hemorrhagic events occurred during the clinical course in 4.0% (
n
= 24) and 3.5% (
n
= 21) of patients, respectively. These results show that the international PV prognostic score (age, venous thrombosis and leukocytosis) is applicable to Japanese patients with PV.
Pregnancy with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is associated with significant risk of complications, such as life-threatening thrombosis. Recently, eculizumab has come into clinical use and ...revolutionized the treatment of PNH. However, clinical information regarding eculizumab use for PNH during pregnancy is limited. The present report describes pregnancies with PNH treated with eculizumab that were registered with the Japan PNH study group and reviews the literature. In case 1, the patient received eculizumab throughout pregnancy and delivered a healthy neonate at term, although breakthrough hemolysis occurred at 20 weeks of gestation. In case 2, the patient discontinued eculizumab before pregnancy and developed preeclampsia at 27 weeks of gestation. She received eculizumab and delivered a preterm, but healthy, neonate by cesarean section. In case 3, the patient received eculizumab from 18 weeks of gestation and delivered a healthy neonate at term without any complications. Reports of 11 pregnant women treated with eculizumab were identified in the literature. Of 14 pregnancies, including our own cases, breakthrough hemolysis and preeclampsia occurred in five and two cases, respectively. There were no thrombotic complications, maternal or neonatal deaths, or fetal structural abnormalities. Thus, eculizumab appears to be safe and effective for managing PNH during pregnancy.
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a disorder in which an activated complement causes intravascular hemolysis of erythrocytes that do not have complement regulators. It is critical to ...monitor the rapid progression of hemolysis caused by infection and thrombosis. As far as we can tell, this is the first report of 5 COVID-19 patients with PNH in Japan. Three patients were being treated with ravulizumab, one with eculizumab, and one with crovalimab. All five cases had received two or more COVID-19 vaccinations. COVID-19 was classified as mild in four cases and moderate in one. None of the cases required the use of oxygen, and none became severe. All of them experienced breakthrough hemolysis, and two required red blood cell transfusions. In any case, no thrombotic complications were observed.
In this phase II multicenter study (JALSG AML209‐FLT3‐SCT), we aimed to prospectively elucidate the role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) at first complete remission ...(CR1) for FLT3‐internal tandem duplication (ITD)‐positive AML. Newly diagnosed de novo AML patients with FLT3‐ITD were enrolled at the achievement of CR1 and received allo‐HSCT as soon as possible after the first consolidation therapy. Mutations of 57 genes in AML cells at diagnosis were also analyzed. Among 48 eligible patients with a median age of 38.5 (17‐49) years, 36 (75%) received allo‐HSCT at a median of 108 days after CR1. The median follow‐up was 1726 days. The primary end‐point, 3‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) based on an intent to treat analysis, was 43.8% (95% confidence interval CI, 30%‐57%), suggesting the efficacy of this treatment because the lower limit of the 95% CI exceeded the threshold response rate of 20%. The 3‐year overall survival, post‐transplant DFS, and non‐relapse mortality rates were 54.2% (95% CI, 39%‐67%), 58.3% (95% CI, 41%‐72%), and 25.0% (95% CI, 12%‐40%), respectively. The median ITD allelic ratio (AR) was 0.344 (0.006‐4.099). Neither FLT3‐ITD AR nor cooccurring genetic alterations was associated with a poor DFS. This prospective study indicated the efficacy and safety of allo‐HSCT for FLT3‐ITD AML patients in CR1. This study was registered at: www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ as #UMIN000003433.
Kaplan‐Meier estimates of disease‐free survival (A) and overall survival (B) in 48 AML patients with FLT3 internal tandem duplication.
The hypomethylating agent azacitidine (AZA) significantly extends overall survival (OS) in patients with higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), when compared with other conventional care ...regimens, including supportive care and low-dose and intensive chemotherapy. However, the effects of 5- and 7-day treatment schedules of AZA (AZA-5 and AZA-7, respectively) on the OS of MDS patients had not been compared prospectively. We started a phase 3 trial comparing the effects of AZA-7 and AZA-5 on MDS patients with refractory anemia with excess blasts (RAEB) and RAEB in transformation (RAEB-T). However, this trial was prematurely terminated because of poor recruitment. Using all data, there was no significant difference in the OS of patients between AZA-7 (92 patients) and AZA-5 (95 patients), with the 2-year OS rates of AZA-7 and AZA-5 at 36.4% and 25.8%, respectively (
P
= 0.293). Adverse event profiles were similar between the two groups. Interestingly, data of the centrally diagnosed RAEB and RAEB-T cases showed that AZA-7 significantly prolonged the time to leukemia transformation compared with AZA-5 (
P
= 0.022), confirmed by multivariate analysis. Although this trial could not provide definite evidence, the results support the use of AZA-7 for RAEB and RAEB-T. (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000009633).
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